Gundam Wing: After Era Revelations of Bitter Fate
by Tenkage-chan
Summary: Rem has betrayed them, and the remaining two pilots are forced to retreat with Kahna and the Maganac Corp. But as Kahna and Takeru dwell on the actions of Rem, Inori must follow Crow's emergency protocols, to disastrous results...


Legal Junk

Okay, here we go again. I decided that I needed to refresh the legal notice, since I didn't want to have to copy it every time. It would get too, um, I dunno, repetitive, I guess. All right, then. Gundam Wing, and its characters and Mobile Suits, are copyrighted by Bandai, Sunrise, and all of its other respective owners. This is just a personal fan fiction written for fun, with no intention of copyrighting or making a profit. Only if I am approached by these companies with a request to use the story for their purposes would I even consider it. All characters and organizations, with the exception of the new OZ, from the original series are mentioned in a purely historical reference. The new OZ has little or nothing to do with the original, Lazarus just decided to use the name because of the impact it had on the people, so many decades ago. That, and I like the uniforms. Those are copyrighted, too.

Any Mobile Suits of this story that are similar to or from the original series that are used in this story, such as the Sandrock II, and the Taurus Mobile Suits, are copyrighted by the guys listed above. These suits have had adjustments made, to compensate for the "modern" technology of After Era, such as the Virgo S units, with the humanoid head. All other Mobile Suits, i.e. the Neo Wing Gundam ZERO, the Gundam Azure, the Gundam Seraph, the Gundam Omen, and technology (The Sub-ZERO system, the plasma saber and plasma saber CRESCENT, along with the psionic powers and studies conducted) are my own original idea. This goes for the characters as well. If you would like to use any of my ideas in one of your own stories, I ask that you contact me, first, at is to cover some mistakes I may have made, Kahna isn't six foot six, he's five foot six, and Takeru's psionic generation is unknown because the inherent superhuman abilities in his family make it impossible to tell what generation he is.

I think that about covers it. I hope you enjoyed "The Price of Trust", and I hope that you'll enjoy "Revelations of Bitter Fate" just as much, or more. Well, as Wufei would say;

"A warrior will only rediscover himself on the battlefield."

So, I say it's time that we returned to our own battleground, and see what new aspects of the characters we can discover. Shall we?

_**Author's Note:** Hey! I thought of a great idea! During the battles, such as the fight at the Maganac Corps base, you should put on one of the midis or MP3s to listen to while the battle's going on. It adds a lot of feeling to the battle, and makes it more fun, top. I recommend Just Communication and Rhythm Emotion. They really bring out the feeling in the battles. Or, better yet, if you have the soundtrack, put it in, and listen while you read, changing the music to the song you think fits certain parts accordingly. If you don't have the soundtrack, find it, then buy it. The music is just too good! Just thought I'd add that._

_**After Era, Part III; Revelations of Bitter Fate**_

In the last chapter of Gundam Wing: _After Era_, the Gundams landed on the blue planet earth, each beginning their missions to take the planet back from OZ's forces. Their first missions were total successes, carried out to near-perfection. Still, it seemed strange. OZ had known about the existence of the Gundams, it had seen them escape from the battle at the lunar base. Even so, it did not warn its earth forces about the incoming threat.

After successfully completing his first mission, Takeru is then sent to Moscow, to scour the old database of the crumbling Senate building. There, he learns the history of the new OZ's mysterious leader, Sven Lazarus, who had once been the official military advisor of the Senate, and supposedly died at the X-18999 space colony. With this information in hand, he reports to mission control, and is assigned yet another mission.

Inori posed as the assistant of one of OZ's supporters on earth, in order to discover the secret behind their control over their pilots. Kahna, meanwhile, is informed of the Gundams' arrival by the elusive Dr. Crow.

A chance meeting with Rem puts Takeru on edge. He is uncertain of the Seraph pilot, and any possible hope of trust is lost in a brief fistfight between the two. His mission complete, Takeru sets off to complete yet another mission.

With the help of David Maxwell, Inori is able to hide her Gundam from OZ, and her mission of infiltration continues. Once again, Takeru is caught in a chance meeting with the remaining Gundam pilot. Showing more trust to Inori than he did Rem, Takeru houses his Gundam with the Azure, deciding it to be safe enough for him to get repairs done.

Inori completes her mission, and around the same time, Kahna meets up with Rem. The experience leaves him heartbroken and betrayed, with the loss of a man's life at his feet. Strangely enough, the Gundam pilots go for weeks without hearing from mission control. Finally, Takeru decides to leave Inori and Maxwell, and pursue a rumor that lies in Australia. Shortly after, Inori receives a distress call from Rem. She parts with Maxwell, and flies the Azure off in Rem's direction.

Inori arrives in just the nick of time to save Rem from a horde of Virgo S units, and the two instantly part ways. Continuing on, Inori comes across a battle in the Arabian Desert. Kahna and the Maganac Corps battling an onslaught of OZ Mobile Suit troops.

Inori decides to assist the wayward Kahna, and when the battle is complete, is surprisingly surrounded by Kahna's men. Somehow, her sincerity breaks through, and she is spared. Invited to stay at the Maganac base, she and Kahna become fast friends.

Shortly after, Inori receives an order to pursue the Seraph, which has reportedly self-detonated, somewhere in Siberia. Accompanied by Kahna, she recovers the badly damaged Gundam, and takes it to the Maganac base, where reconstruction begins.

Almost immediately after, Inori receives yet another distress signal, this time from Takeru. She does not allow Kahna to accompany her, this time.

Takeru has been hounded, in Australia. Keeping the Neo hidden as a plane, in a small but dense forest is the only protection he has from the hordes of Virgo S units that scrounge the continent. At a moment that seems to ordain discovery, Takeru is surprised by Inori's fast arrival. Even more surprising is the arrival of Kahna, shortly after, who has followed Inori over the oceans, with his second in command beside him.

Finally, OZ's secret is revealed, as a new Gundam. Called Omen, this powerful machine is aptly named, and deadly in combat. Even more shocking is the pilot's identity, Rem. The traitor all along has been one of their very own. The Gundams are caught in a vicious battle, both Inori and Kahna falling to the Omen's devastating blows. Finally, it is brought to a stand still between Rem and Takeru, or so it is believed. Rem goes to use his remaining weapon, a second plasma saber, but is somehow stopped.

Razul, desperate to protect young Kahna, holds back Rem with his Maganac, pleading with Inori and Takeru to take Kahna and flee. Reluctantly, the two accept, taking up the battered Sandrock II, and abandoning the battlefield. Razul holds Rem for as long as possible, but he eventually breaks free.

Razul is sacrificed in exchange for the lives of the Gundams.

Now, bruised and battered, their eyes heavy with defeat and betrayal, the Gundams arrive at the Maganac Corps base. One thought consumes them all, heavy with anger and remorse.

Rem must die.

_-Maganac Corps. Base of operations, the Arabian Desert…_

She lay entangled in the silken sheets, her legs loosely entwined amongst the covers underneath. She was on her right side, dressed in her nightly attire of a sports bra and underwear, her right arm pinned beneath her pillow, the other hugging the plush cushion from the other side. Her breathing was slow, easy. She seemed for all the world to be lost in a haze of sleep, but she wasn't. Her eyes were open, and she stared off into the darkness with a tumultuous void in those pale, icy blue orbs. When she blinked, it was slowly, as if she were consciously forcing her lids to close. No, she wasn't asleep. Too many things were racing around in her head, as if there were a thousand different voices, all speaking at once.

This was how it had been for Inori, ever since they had returned to the Maganac Corps. base of operations. Both she and Takeru had been bandaged up by the doctors, but most of their wounds were only superficial bruises, from being jolted around in their cockpits so much. Kahna had received the most physical damage, the gash across his forehead caused him to loose quite a bit of blood. The doctors had stitched the wound, but it would probably scar. The loss of blood made Kahna a bit lightheaded, as well, and it made him emotional. He would begin weeping for no reason, and when asked why, he would respond in a confusing, roundabout manner.

Inori hadn't been able to get any sleep, there were too many thoughts buzzing around inside her head. Not only was she concerned about Kahna, but she also had the multitude of problems that had been presented by Rem's betrayal. On top of that, Takeru seemed to be taking it on a more personal level than would be expected of him. Every time she tried to broach the subject with him, he would fall silent, his chocolate brown eyes hardened over, more so than usual, and he wouldn't respond beyond a quiet yes or no.

The Gundams were a different matter. The Sandrock II had received considerable damage, because of its design, which was primitive, compared to the Azure and Neo Wing ZERO. The Azure wasn't in too bad of shape, considering that it had received the most physical damage, and Inori had made a mental reminder to thank Dr. Crow, when she returned to the lunar base. The Neo had suffered the greatest amount of damage, because of the battles he had been involved in earlier, against all those Virgo S units. There were also gash marks on the suit, from where Rem's plasma saber had come a little too close. Kahna's men were currently in the process of repairing the Gundams, but it would still be a while till everything was fixed.

Inori rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling, even though she couldn't see it through the darkness. She had been given a room that was without windows, so she was completely enveloped by the black emptiness, her right arm still buried underneath the pillow. She just couldn't get to sleep, no matter how she arranged herself, or how quiet it was. There would be no rest for her, this night. She sat up in the bed, freeing her arm. She didn't need a clock to tell her the time, she had been counting the minutes in her restlessness. Breathing a sigh out through her nose, she tossed the silken sheets aside, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She crinkled her toes in the carpet, reaching for the clothes she had so carelessly tossed on the floor. While baggy jeans and over-sized T-shirts weren't exactly a fashion statement on Inori's fit, slender form, it was all she had available, since the men were being kind enough to wash the rest of her clothes for her. She clumsily patted along the nightstand, searching for the hair tie she had dropped there. Once she felt the item in between her fingers, she quickly put her long, unruly hair into a low ponytail, not wanting to have to deal with it right now.

A click echoed in the room, as Inori switched on the lamp. Its pale light was enough to make her squint, since she had been lying in darkness for so long. She yawned to get moisture into her eyes, not actually tired. By all rights, she should have been exhausted. Since they had returned, Kahna had been too wishy-washy to give any proper orders to the men. They came to Inori for "suggestions", when they actually just needed her to take command until Kahna was fit to lead, again. They didn't trust Takeru, not that she could blame them. Besides that, Inori was overseeing the repair of all four Gundams. While the reconstruction of the Seraph was coming along easily enough, and the men were familiar with the Azure, the Neo was proving to be very difficult to repair. Unlike the original five Gundams, that had been used so long ago, each of the three new Gundams were distinctly different, and required different methods of repair. For example, the Azure's pressure seal, on the armor, while very strong, was a delicate matter in handling. If you messed up, the seal would come undone, and the armor would loosen, and need to be repressurized. As far as it went, Inori was the only one with the experience on how to do that.

With all that had been going on, it was any wonder Inori was even given time to sleep, at all. She hardly ate or drank, and she knew that she was probably falling back on her health. If she kept this up, she'd end up as an anorexic insomniac. She sighed, but not out of any emotional stress, or anything. After all, she was a soldier, and she knew how to take everything in stride. With a grunt to herself, Inori opened her door, and stepped out into the darkened hallway. She decided to head down to the kitchens, and try to force something into her stomach. If this was going to keep up any longer, she was going to need all the strength she could muster.

"Master Kahna?"

The young Winner heir started from his thoughts, surprised by the intrusion. Even though he was open to those who needed to speak to him, he had been pretty much left to his own, for the past week and a half. His days were spent in the music room, his violin resting in his lap. He hadn't played it for the better part of a year, and he was probably getting rusty.

"I'm sorry, Ahmed." He apologized softly, "I-I've been so distracted for these past few days…"

"There's no need to apologize, young master." The burly Maganac soldier said affectionately, understanding the young man's dilemma. He had been so quiet since Razul's death, so emotionally vulnerable. "But, Miss Kazama is here to speak with you."

"Inori?" Kahna seemed a little surprised. Inori had been so busy, ever since they had returned. He was amazed that she was able to make time to come and see him, at all. "Please, send her in." he said hurriedly, knowing that she could be somewhat impatient. The soldier bowed his head, and backed away from the open door.

She entered without ceremony, wearing the usual jeans and tight T-shirt. She also wore her jacket, the one with the blue Chinese dragon and the words "Heaven's Wrath" in silver, Japanese characters. Her long hair was French braided, to keep it out of her way. Some sort of file was clutched in one hand, and she waved the soldier away with the other, asking him to close the door.

Inori stood before the table Kahna sat at, looking down on him with a blank, somewhat stern expression. Her eyes, usually so intense and alive with a smile, had hardened over, and were now as unbreakable as ice.

"Inori," he began tentatively, "…What is it that you wanted to see me about?"

She dropped the file before him, the papers inside making it slap against the glass sharply. There hadn't been any anger or agitation in her movements, but the sound still caused him to flinch. Inori remained impassive.

"These are the readouts concerning OZ's actions, in the past two weeks." She said simply, not adding any real emotion to her voice. She walked towards one of the windows, staring out into the green of the garden, and the desert beyond it. "When you read them, you'll see that there have been a lot of military power shifts, mostly to this area. Any nearby OZ facilities have been increasing their MS forces considerably, and they've started patrols around the places where your men have been known to hit."

Kahna reached out, and took the file with one hand, opening the thin cardboard, and skimming the first page. He turned his attention back to Inori, his eyes soft with concern. "What are you saying?"

Her eyes glanced over at him, and she turned away from the window to stare back at him. "I'm saying that they're looking for us." She said, her eyes still void of any expression. She was like a soldier, a lieutenant, debriefing one of her men. She walked back towards the table. "All Lazarus has to do to find this place, Kahna, is review the historical documents concerning the Maganac Corps. Those documents will give him this base's location. We have to make one of two decisions.

"OZ _will_ eventually find this place." She continued, stopping before him, but not looking at him. She stood before the table like a profile of herself. "When that happens, the Maganac Corps. must be prepared to either relocate to a new area, or to become a mobile strike force. Neither one is very appealing, but having somewhere for the people to stay would be a lot easier on those who have families here. Not only that, but it's better to have a base of operations, then to have to fix Mobile Suits while you're on the run."

Inori began heading for the closed door, still not looking back at Kahna. "I've included some of my ideas to improve the defenses of _this_ base, for the time being. I've also taken the liberty of listing a few possible locations that would be safe to relocate to, or at least temporarily stay at, to make repairs." She opened the door, then finally turned the ice blue of her eyes towards him.

"I know this isn't an easy call to make, Kahna." She said flatly, "But I can't direct your men, in this matter. Either way, the Maganac Corps will have to leave this place, eventually. They can no longer remain here, in safety."

She closed the door softly behind her, without so much as glancing back. Kahna stared after her, almost unable to come to grips with what she had said. He could feel his eyes shiver with emotion.

"The Maganac Corps… leave?" he reiterated softly. "This place… it's almost been our home. How could we possibly… consider leaving it…?"

Kahna stared down at the file in his hands, which shook ever so slightly. "It's where… where Quatre… where he first commanded them. This place…"

He saw a splotch of moisture fall onto the papers he held, followed by a second. His eyes widened in surprise, as he finally felt the warmth that was spilling down his cheeks.

_What- what is this?_ He thought softly, _Why am I crying…?_

Kahna bowed his head, unable to prevent the overflow of tears. Quietly, he wept until he felt as if he had no more tears…

The repairs on the Neo seemed to be coming along, well enough. Most of the armor had already been repaired. All that were left were superficial damages, mostly dents and small cuts. Takeru didn't want to rush the engineers, especially since he knew that Inori was overseeing all repairs made to the Gundams, as well as giving tactical suggestions to the soldiers. However, he needed the Neo fixed as soon as possible. He trusted the repairs Inori was having made to it. He had to admit, after she assisted him in his Gundam's repairs, when they had first met, it had handled much better than when he had first used it. Still, if he was to go out after Rem, he would need the Neo to be working at one hundred percent of its capability, or more.

Takeru flared up at the thought of that traitorous bastard. He had known, ever since he had first met the marble-eyed young man, that something was amiss about him. Even Takeru, as emotionless as he seemed, still had some respect for life. Rem, however, had almost seemed to regard it with disdain. It was as if, to him, life itself were an insult. Why had Crow chosen Rem to be the Seraph's pilot? Hadn't he seen the way he fought, his cruel nature? The chill in both his presence and his eyes?

"Do you mind not thinking about Rem so much?" he heard Inori's melodious voice behind him. He whirled slowly to confront the slender young woman, eyeing her skeptically. Ever since they had come to this place, or in her and Kahna's case, returned here, she had become somewhat quieter. Her normally smiling eyes had hardened over. She hadn't teased him once.

"What do you mean?" he asked flatly.

"I mean that you're thinking about killing him so much, you're giving me a headache." She said simply, no real emotion in her voice. She walked past him, to the small computer with the specs for the Neo. She began to quickly compile all the repair data, reviewing it with a careful eye, just as he watched her.

"Since when could you read people's thoughts without needing physical contact, first?" he asked.

"I'm not using my telepathy, it's my empathy that's picking up your thoughts." She responded flatly, without looking in his direction. "My empathy is always at work, it's the one power psionics can't really control. If a person's thoughts are singular, and near all consuming, than it's easy for an empath to pick it up. You've been thinking about Rem so much, it's even gotten into _my_ head. Did you get a chance to read the information in the file I gave to you?"

Takeru nodded. "If you mean the one about OZ's recent actions, then yes."

"Good." She finished up with her diagnostics scan, then turned to look at him. "There's a debriefing about what the Maganac Corps intends to do about OZ's current movements in this area. It starts at 13:00 hours. Be there." Inori turned, and briskly walked away, leaving Takeru to stare after her, and wonder.

Inori had become so detached, as of late, so militaristic. She was doing everything in the manner of a soldier, it just wasn't like her. Then again, Takeru didn't really know the young woman. He had only known her for perhaps two or three months.

_I'm not even certain I know myself, right now_, he thought with disdain. Inori was right, he had been thinking almost constantly about how he would kill Rem. He was silent at briefings, cold to all the Maganac soldiers, and often seemed angry for no apparent reason. Inori would have said that was how he always acted, though. To him, to everyone, he wasn't acting as a soldier, but more like he was silently enraged…

Takeru snorted at the thought. It was true, he was thinking of how to kill Rem. However, it was his duty. Both as a soldier, and as a Gundam pilot. Inori should know that, she was a Gundam pilot herself. Then again, knowing her, she would probably say something infuriating, like "Why, do you have a crush on him?", or something equally ridiculous. She would tease him, with that double-edged smile of hers, that was always deadly and charming at the same time.

A thought hit Takeru. Inori hadn't teased him once, since returning to this base. She hadn't smiled, not even her cocky half-smile that was so much an expression of her character. It was strange, she wasn't acting how he had imprinted her to be, but rather, more like he would. It was an image that didn't suit her.

Takeru ground his teeth together. Even when she was finally being somewhat civil, she found a way to infuriate him, and stir some sort of emotional reaction. He pounded his fist against the plating of the computer, denting the sturdy metal, to vent his frustration. Turning away from the console, Takeru continued along the catwalk, putting all thoughts of Inori, Maganac soldiers, and Rem from his mind.

"As you all should know by now, OZ has been making many obvious shifts in their military power." The soldier by the name of Sadam spoke firmly. He was the one giving the briefing about what was currently undergoing with OZ. Everyone of any importance was at this meeting. Takeru remained hidden, within the shadows at the back of the room. Kahna had ventured out of his self-confinement, and was sitting at his usual chair. Inori reclined against the wall, up front, watching the both of them from the corner of her eye.

"Most of these shifts have been increases in all the surrounding areas of the desert." Sadam continued "Not only that, but there have been reports of increasing Mobile Suit patrols around the desert, which are steadily working their way inwards. Further reports indicate that many citizens of the nearest towns are being interrogated about merchant caravans that head into the desert. They're being asked about caravan routes and stops at oasis', looking for any lead about our desert forces.

"It's painfully clear that OZ is mobilizing its force in pursuit of our forces." Sadam spoke firm and clear, making certain that everyone understood. "This leaves us with a difficult decision to make." Sadam paused, making certain the importance of his next words were weighed carefully.

"The Maganac Corps is no longer safe here, in this ancient fortress. Our choices must lye either in relocation, or becoming a permanently mobile force. Either way, we cannot remain here for much longer"

There was a tumult of voices, discussing Sadam's words in hushed tones. Sadam raised his arms to silence those present. "I presume that you've all had a chance to look over the files that were handed out earlier. Miss Kazama was kind enough to look into places for relocation, that could at least offer us some protection. For example, one of the abandoned military bases in the Philippine islands, or the area on the Horn of Africa that was suggested. At the very least, these places would offer us protection, for a little while, and it would allow for those of our men with families to remain somewhat settled. All we need to decide upon is where we first intend to go, and when we shall depart. Now, any questions?"

There was another moment of excited voices speaking in hushed tones, before the room settled down. One man, the commander of one of the smaller battalions, stood tentatively.

"Yes?" Sadam pointed to the man.

"Sir, I have a question concerning the Gundams, and their pilots." Inori heard him say, and devoted her attention to him. She noticed Takeru turn his head in the man's direction as well. "We have all three Gundams here at the base. Couldn't the Gundams simply assist us in fighting OZ? With their added power to our forces, I'm certain it would be a simple matter for us to win, and we wouldn't have to abandon this base. And, if Master Kahna takes control of the third Gundam, the one called Seraph, the Maganac Corps could easily defeat OZ, and take back the earth!"

"No." another soldier stood in response. "This battle involves the Maganac Corps alone. We should not be forcing them to fight with us, after all that they have done for Master Kahna and the rest of us. We should not involve them in our battles, anymore."

There were mixed responses from those present in the room, some nodding in agreement, others shaking their heads, arguing some point.

"Miss Kazama?" Sadam summoned her out center with a hand. "Will you please come and explain the Gundams' standing point in this?"

Inori pushed off the wall she was leaning against, running a hand through the length of her midnight-colored hair and brushing her curved bangs aside. The room fell silent as she took the floor. She took a deep breath through her nostrils, looking around at all the men present.

"Those who lay eyes on a Gundam shall not live to tell about it." She began slowly, "I'm certain that each and every one of you is familiar with those words. I heard it said that Trowa Barton once said those exact words on the battlefield, while dispatching an enemy in his Gundam, the Heavyarms. The most important factor of a Gundam is that there is never any evidence to support its existence. No video or audio recordings, no acknowledgement of its appearance from any of the higher-ups, no survivors to confirm that it was there. If the Gundams were to involve themselves in the battles of the Maganac Corps beyond the sting missions that I have taken with you, then it would be like announcing our existence to the world.

"If we were to fight with you, OZ would see us. It wouldn't just acknowledge us as an added threat, but would bring out all of its military power to stop us. In its attempt to rid itself of the Gundam threat, it would annihilate the whole of the Maganac Corps without a second thought. Sven Lazarus, the leader of this new OZ, is not the same as Treize Khushrenada. There is no subtlety in the way he works, no chivalry, and he has no care for those who stand in his way.

"We Gundam pilots, we're solitary soldiers. We work alone. The importance of our missions must override everything else. It's true, you could ask us to stay and fight with you. We'd refuse, but you could still ask us. You see, if we were to receive a mission before or during the battle, the truth is, we would abandon you for that mission. The way we fight, our hit-and-run style tactics, all are necessary to maintain secrecy. Now, we would still fight with you, but not in this battle, not the way you're describing. We can't destroy OZ, like you think. We may be Gundam pilots, and our Gundams are strong, but we're not that powerful. We make decisive strikes against OZ, that will weaken them in more than one area. Our first missions were designed to probe OZ's defenses, and to judge the wisdom of their next moves. We've seen those moves, and we now have to calculate our own next attack, with one pilot less.

"The truth is, even if we help you in this battle, we will not make a difference. We're currently too weak to make such a bold move against OZ. The only options currently open to us are to make a strategic retreat, reevaluate our strengths and OZ's, and then attack. But because of OZ's moves in this area, we first have to abandon this base, and then we can decide.

"We Gundams can only provide you with a means to fight, not a way to live."

Inori left the floor in silence, returning to the corner of the wall she had been reclining against earlier. Those present in the room began discussing her words excitedly. Inori glanced around the room with blank eyes, which first came to rest on Kahna. The young Winner heir had bowed his head when Inori had started speaking, and she wasn't certain if he had heard everything she said. Even now, he held his face in his hands, not looking up. Her eyes skimmed across the room to Takeru, who had remained hidden in the back. His own head was turned away, but more in contempt than anything else. He seemed to be bored with the entire meeting. For the first time, true anger sparked within Inori. She decided to have a word with those two, once this was finished.

"Miss Kazama?" Sadam's voice drew her out of her thoughts. She turned to him with a little surprise and an apology, asking him to repeat what he had just said.

"I said that the men have decided to abandon this base. We will decide on a location later, in an exclusive meeting of the soldiers. We were hoping if you Gundam pilots would accompany us, when we left, at the very least?"

Inori gave a small smile, and a nod, "Well, it doesn't seem as if we have much of a choice, at the moment. Until all the repairs are made, and until we see what OZ plans to do next, on the larger scale, there isn't much we can do beyond sitting back, and watching."

"Well, there was another thing I wanted to ask you about." Sadam said in a quieter tone of voice.

"What's that?"

"I noticed that, you never mentioned anything about what that first commander spoke of. You know, about Kahna flying the Seraph?"

"Hmm, well, the truth is, I didn't want anyone getting offended by what I would say. Don't get me wrong, Kahna is a good friend, and an excellent leader and pilot, but he just couldn't handle the Seraph. Believe me, I know."

"Well, why is that?"

Inori sighed in personal frustration. "Just like the Azure and the Neo Wing ZERO, the Seraph was equipped with the Sub-ZERO system. It takes a lot of tough mental an emotional training before you can handle that system. Y'see, it links itself to the base of your neck, right where the central nervous cord and the brain connect. When you fight, it feels a lot more like you're actually fighting with your own body parts than with a Mobile Suit, you can almost see the battle as if your eye was the camera. It puts you under a lot of mental and emotional stress, just to fly it without being attacked. In order to handle it properly, you need to keep your emotions in check, and must have strong mental stability. Otherwise, the system will drive you crazy.

"Now, I know that Kahna is a gentle guy, and it wouldn't seem possible for him to lose control so easily. But, that's what people thought about Quatre too, remember? And look what happened with him, when he used the ZERO system."

"Hmm." Sadam dropped his chin into his palm, considering her words. "I suppose you have a point."

"So, um, Inori?" Kahna began tentatively, "Why, um, what did you want to talk to us about?"

Inori had quietly asked Takeru and Kahna to meet her in the library, after the briefing had ended. Once the two arrived, Ahmed had closed the doors behind them, leaving them in the utter silence of the library. Inori herself was sitting at one of the desks, leaning forward with her hands clasped before her mouth, and her eyes closed. She hadn't said anything, not yet, and Kahna was getting a little nervous.

"Umm… Inori?" Kahna edged a bit closer to the desk.

"All right, Inori, enough with the silence." Takeru interrupted in annoyance. "You asked to speak to us, here in the library. Now what the hell is it-"

"How long do you two intend to go on like this?" she asked in a soft tone of voice. Her sudden response, and the strange, but straightforward manner of the question left them both a little confused.

"Wh-what do you mean, Inori?" Kahna asked softly, not understanding. Inori rose from the desk firmly, her eyes snapping open, and catching both of them by surprise. The intensity of her eyes had returned, indeed, they were more startling than before, but there was an angry light in those marvelous, ice blue orbs.

"What I mean, Kahna-" she returned forcefully, "Is how long do you intend to keep avoiding your responsibilities?"

Inori pushed away from the desk, a little more violently than Kahna had ever seen her be. "You just keep isolating yourselves from everyone, and everything, else. It's like you're trying to pretend that everything that's going on will just pass you by, so long as you remain hidden. Well, guess what? It won't."

"Inori…" Kahna was taken aback by the harshness of her words. "What are you… saying-"

"I'm saying, Kahna, that you need to stop hiding in that damn music room, and start acting like you actually _lead_ the Maganac Corps!" she snapped, her eyes glinting dangerously. "Ever since we returned from Australia, you've been sulking in there, ignoring everything that's been going on! Your soldiers have given you space, because they care about you so much, but they need someone to lead them! And guess what, I am _not_ your fill-in!

"All of the men are coming to _me_ for tactical advice, because they know me, and they trust my advice. They've been doing it so much, that I might as well be giving the goddamn _orders_, around here! I am _not_ going to do your job for you, _anymore_, _Kahna!_ Now you either stop being so damn emotional, get a grip on yourself, and lead these men, or assign a new fucking leader!"

Takeru, who had been watching the outburst, lowered his head in thought. "She's right, Kahna." He said quietly, his voice devoid of emotion. Kahna's eyes moistened, as if he would begin to weep. He felt as if he were being betrayed, by one of his dearest friends, he simply could not believe it.

"Oh, don't you _dare_ start, Yuy!" Inori growled, turning her attention to him. "Don't even get me _started_ on _you_!"

Takeru narrowed his eyes in surprise, and a slight flare of anger. "And just what the hell have _I_ done?"

"_Nothing_! And that's the whole point!" she snapped, "All you do, every damn day, is think about Rem, and how you're going to kill him! You've been doing it so damn much, my _empathy_ is picking it up, and it's giving me a _fucking_ headache! All you ever do is check on the Neo, and see if it's done! You haven't bothered to help me in any of the repairs! And I sure as hell could've used your help issuing tactical advice to the soldiers, and their commanders! You've been mooning over Rem's betrayal so goddamn much, that the soldiers don't know whether they can trust you, or not!"

"As a Gundam pilot, it's my _duty_ to kill Rem!" Takeru returned in anger, "He's betrayed us, he's the one who leaked out all the information at the lunar base, which resulted in its capture. As a Gundam pilot, as a _soldier_, it is my duty to kill him!-"

"A true soldier wouldn't focus on something as petty as vengeance!" she cut him off sharply, having lowered her voice for the full impact of her words to hit him. "Especially not when it was during such a critical point in a war."

For a long moment, Inori and Takeru stared at each other, her last words leaving him totally at a loss. She spun past him, her trailing hair obscuring his view for a moment.

"You're both pathetic. Do you know that?" she growled, as she yanked open the door. She stopped before leaving, looking back at them with firm eyes. "I want you both to consider this very carefully. Just why is it that you're fighting? What is it that made you begin fighting, in the first place? If you confront yourselves, and can't find your reason for being here, then leave the battlefield. Because, a soldier without a reason to fight, is like God creating all of mankind, and forgetting to give him a soul."

The sound of the door slamming echoed through the library, as well as in the hearts and minds of both Takeru and Kahna. For a long moment, they were left only with the emptiness of the room, they didn't even seem to acknowledge each other's presence.

Takeru was the first to realize what had just happened. Inori had displayed their weaknesses before them, and she had done it so suddenly, almost brutally, that they were still adjusting to the shock. He lowered his head, staring at the carpet, as thoughts rebounded off the inside of his skull. She was right, he had practically been obsessing over Rem, and his betrayal. That was not the way a soldier would act. He should have been helping her with her orders to Kahna's soldiers, or at least been assisting her in the Gundams' repairs. Instead, he had fallen within himself, and thought nothing beyond the moment when he could finally kill his adversary.

Takeru lowered his head, clenching his fist with anger at himself. What had possessed him, to stray so far away from his duties? He was a soldier, and he should've been acting like one. Takeru felt disgraced, somehow, as if he had orchestrated his own loss of honor. His nails bit into the tender flesh of his own palm, and a trickle of blood seeped out from his enclosed hand. Takeru was too angry with himself to notice, however. Slowly, his grip eased, and he opened his eyes to the dim light of the library. He had no time to dwell on his mistakes, instead, he should be making efforts to make amends.

He heard the sound of soft, quiet weeping beside him. Takeru turned to look at Kahna, who sat in a chair not too far from where he stood. His pale blue eyes were wide, gentle tears leaving trails down his cheeks. He made no sound beyond breathing softly, and seemed not to acknowledge Takeru's presence at all. Takeru regarded the young Winner heir with a bit of sympathy. Kahna had been through so much, since the death of his father, and now Rem had murdered not one, but two, of Kahna's men. One of them was his trusted second in command, Razul had been his name, which Kahna had almost considered to be as close as family. Still, Inori had been right to try and shock Kahna out of his mourning state, and back into reality.

"She's right, Kahna." He said softly, drawing Kahna's attention upon himself. "About both of us. She's right."

Kahna lowered his gaze, and stared at his feet. He clenched his hands together. "I know." Kahna admitted slowly, "But… I just-I feel so …useless. First I lose my father, and now I lose Razul…I feel as though I'll only be leading my men to their deaths, should I go further…"

Takeru considered his next words carefully. "A war without death, Kahna, is not a war. Without the suffering, the heartbreak, and the sorrow of loss, war is only a game to those who would fight them. Without them, there would be no wishes for peace, mankind would be caught up in an endless game of puppets and toys."

This seemed to reach Kahna, and he raised his eyes to meet Takeru's own.

"My great-grandfather once said that the blood and tears shed for war are only ceremonial, and that man has never truly deviated from his mistakes." He continued, "And I do believe that Quatre himself said that death and tears are a necessary part of war, for without them, man can never learn how to appreciate what it is that he has, and come back all the stronger from his loss."

Takeru approached Kahna, standing before the chair he sat in, and looking down at him at an angle. "I believe that it was during his time as a senator, however brief it was, that he said that. Am I right?"

Kahna nodded slowly. Takeru turned his gaze towards the far wall. "You've shed your tears, Kahna." He said softly, "Now it's time for you to stop mourning, and return all the stronger for your loss."

Takeru turned and walked away from Kahna, reaching out a hand to open to door to the library. Just as he was about to turn the knob, he was stopped by Kahna's voice.

"Takeru?"

The Gundam pilot turned to regard him. Kahna stood slowly, wiping away the tears on his face with his sleeve before bringing his eyes to meet with Takeru's own. They had somewhat steeled over, and he truly seemed to be stronger.

"Thank you." He said simply.

Takeru nodded, but added a final thought. "You should be thanking Inori. After all, she's the one who brought our focus back to reality." and he shut the door behind him softly, leaving Kahna alone in the library.

Inori fell back into the pilot's seat of her Gundam, plopping down with a frustrated sigh. Clasping her hands behind her head, she crossed her legs and let out a long breath. It wasn't like her to lose her temper like that, she normally kept her anger under a tight reign. Most of her shown anger was feigned, anyway. Still, she knew that her outburst at Takeru and Kahna had been for the best. At least this way, she had brought things to their attention, and they might start getting back on track.

She let out another breath, her face falling as she put the episode from her mind. She had more important matters to deal with, right now, she couldn't dwell on past mistakes. Reaching up, she flicked the switch to close the cockpit, hearing it seal with a steely hiss. The screens glowed with a pale light, as she brought up her communications and data files. With fingers that seemed a blur, she recorded the goings on within the last four weeks. She hadn't had time to do so, when they first returned to the Maganac Corps base. Now was probably the only chance she would have to record things into her log, for a long time. Once that was inputted, she tapped in a few commands, bringing up a special file.

**Emergency Objectives** the screen read. For a moment, her hand hovered over the enter button, her hesitancy coming through. She had reviewed these files only once before, on her way to earth. From her understanding, Dr. Crow hadn't equipped any of the other two Gundams with this information, only her own. It made sense, in a bizarre way. Crow had known her since her birth, and he probably trusted her more than he did Takeru, and certainly more than he must've trusted Rem. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she reaffirmed her soldier's mentality, and struck the key.

"Hello, Inori." Crow's voice seemed to reverberate off the soundproof walls of the cockpit. His bearded face came onto the screen, his beady eyes shining at her from beneath his bushy eyebrows. "If you're listening to this, then it probably means that the worst possible thing I feared to happen, has happened. You have been betrayed, and by one of the other two Gundam pilots who were sent to earth with you."

Crow let out a long sigh, and scratched his beard. He seemed so old to her, and yet, Crow had always been the most lively person she had ever known. It was strangely saddening to see him like this, even if it was only a recording.

"It pains me to think that this could even be a possibility with us, but the threat of a spy has been too strong, over the past two years." He continued with a remorseful sigh. "Despite all the efforts we have taken to rid the lunar base of all possible information leaks, we still can't seem to prevent OZ from learning about things going on within the base. They know about the Gundams, they've _known_ about them! But no matter how brilliant people say I am, I can't seem to figure out just why it is that they haven't attacked us, yet.

"Well, these emergency objectives were made for you, and you alone, girl." Crow steeled the gaze of his beady eyes. "These files contain all the information on the other two pilots that we have, including your own. I've even put in Takeru Yuy's true name. I hope to God it's not him, because that boy has the power to conquer the earth sphere all on his lonesome! That's another reason you were chosen, your psionics should be able to stand up to Takeru's superhuman abilities.

"Use this information well, girl. If you Gundam pilots have been betrayed by one of your own, then your mission is to assassinate the traitor. Be careful girl. I don't like having to make the daughter of one of my own friends an assassin, but you are the only one I decided I could trust with this information… Take care, child."

Crow's image vanished from the screen, leaving Inori in the silence of her cockpit. Three names were listed, Takeru, Rem, and herself. Using the small cursor she opened the file on Rem, reading through the files, and committing them to memory. She was to kill Rem, she would need all the information on him that was available. Once they had been mentally recorded, Inori deactivated the emergency objectives file, not wanting anyone to break through and see her files. For a long time, she sat in the silence, considering the possibilities of this mission. She wasn't certain how she would go about doing this, but she needed to come up with something. Slowly, ever so slowly, she raised her eyes from the darkness of the cockpit's floor.

"All right, then." She said simply. "Time to leave."

"Master Kahna!" his men all seemed surprised by his presence in the control room. He had been hidden away for so long, it wasn't any real surprise to Kahna. He just steeled his eyes over with determination, and approached the commanders.

"Have we reached a decision?" Kahna asked briskly, looking around to each of them in turn. There was a long pause as they each looked at him, then to each other. "Well?" Kahna pressed.

The men all suddenly coughed in embarrassment, and turned their attention back to the subject at hand. "Yes, well, uh, from the information that Inori has given us, we've decided to head for the Horn of Africa, and try to establish a base there."

"This seems to be the best course, because the similar climates will be good for the men, and we'll at least be able to settle in a somewhat similar environment."

Kahna caught his chin in his hand, considering the possibilities. "I'm not so certain." He said evenly.

"What do you mean, master Kahna?"

"Well, if you think about it, OZ will be expecting us to try and aim for a place similar to where we currently are. They would probably suspect us heading for the desert areas of Africa, and there's no guarantee that the natives won't inform OZ about our being there."

All the commanders looked at each other, and nodded in agreement at Kahna's assessment. "Then what do you suggest, master Kahna?"

Kahna furrowed his brow in thought. "Show me the maps and information on the Philippine islands." The files were handed his way, and Kahna took them up, glimpsing over the information provided. Slowly, an idea dawned on him.

"All right, here's what we'll do." He slapped the maps down on the table, pointing to one of the smaller islands. "According to the information provided by Inori, this particular island was once used as an OZ Mobile Suit testing base. We'll head for it, as soon as we're able, and spend time there finishing repairs. Once we arrive, we'll decide what we'll do, from there. With all the multiple islands in the Philippines, it should give OZ a hard time to find us, and that'll buy us some time to work out our next strategies. Any questions?"

Kahna glanced up at the men around the table. They looked back and forth between each other, nodding in agreement, some even smiling.

"Well, what about the men, and their families, master Kahna?"

Kahna gave a short laugh. "I don't think you're giving our men the credit they deserve. We're all of the hardy desert stock, remember? They'll manage, and the Philippines will provide us with plenty of shelter, food, and water, as Inori clearly stated in these files."

There was another pause, as the men smiled and nodded in agreement. Sadam, who had remained quiet with his arms folded across his chest, cracked a smile. He gave Kahna a hardy slap across the back with a short laugh. "Welcome back, young master!"

Kahna gave a nervous smile to the tall and boisterous man. "Thank you, Sadam. It's good to be back." He said with a laugh, looking out across the desert through the far window. "You don't know how good it is…"

"So, you haven't seen her anywhere?"

The engineer shook his head, "No, I'm sorry. Miss Kazama has not been seen, all morning. She's not in her room, or at the Mobile Suit docks."

Takeru dropped his chin into his hand, considering the implications of this. Where could Inori be? "What about the Azure? Has the Azure Gundam left the docks?"

Once again, the engineer shook his head. "No, the Azure is still where it's been for the past two weeks, between the Sandrock II, and the Neo Wing ZERO."

"All right, thanks." Takeru mumbled as he spun on his heel, and walked away. Where the hell was Inori? He needed to talk to her about what their own next moves, as Gundam pilots should be. Just when he actually needed to talk to her about their responsibilities, she was no where to be found! It was starting to get on his nerves. He turned a sharp corner, heading towards the Mobile Suit docks. Perhaps she was there, in the Azure's cockpit, or something. It was the only place he hadn't checked, as of yet.

The sound of his footsteps clicked along the catwalks towards the Gundams. As the engineer had said, the Azure was still in the dock, untouched. The cockpit door was closed, and a somewhat diminutive figure seemed to be standing near its edge, leaning against the rail. Takeru thought it might me Inori at first. But, as he got closer, he could see that it was Kahna, his brow furrowed in thought.

"Have you seen her?" Takeru asked as he approached. Kahna looked up at the taller young man, then shook his head.

"I was hoping she might be here, or maybe with you. But both of those hopes were just dashed." He said with a sigh. "You don't think she left, do you?"

Takeru shook his head helplessly. "I may have known Inori for a bit longer than you, but I'm just as lost as you are. There's no rhyme or reason to Inori's thinking, she makes spontaneous seem well-adjusted."

Kahna gave a short, helpless laugh. "Well, you're right there. I just wish I knew where she was…"

Takeru turned around, and considered the closed Azure's cockpit. Gingerly, he stepped up and opened the door, glancing inside in vain hopes of finding her there. The pilot's seat was bare, and Takeru couldn't help but give a tiny, frustrated sigh. Pulling himself into the cockpit, he fell back into the seat, bringing up the last activated files on screen. All that came up was the mission log, which had been entered in several hours ago, close to the time after she had chewed them both out. He brought up the last entry, skimming through with his eyes.

"Anything?" Kahna asked hopefully.

"Nothing helpful." Takeru said, deflating Kahna's hopeful expression. Shaking his head, he deactivated the screens, and pulled himself out of the cockpit. Kahna saw a white slip of paper tumble onto the catwalk as Takeru pulled himself out. Reaching down, he picked it up and glimpsed at the writing.

"What's it say?" Takeru pressed in a flat tone of voice.

"It says 'Don't expect me to be around for a while. -Inori'." Kahna looked up at Takeru. "Does this mean that she's left?"

Takeru folded his arms across his chest. "Looks that way. Damn! I needed to talk to her about our next move!"

Kahna looked back at the note, and the messy, but delicate handwriting scratched onto it in black ink. So, Inori had gone, leaving him with Takeru, his Gundam, the Seraph, and the Azure. Just what was he supposed to do, with three Gundams? He wasn't about to trust them to his men, he knew how enraged Inori would be at that. Not only that, but why had she left without taking the Azure? Had she received a mission? Or, was she just so frustrated with it all, that she had decided to take a break? Kahna couldn't help but feel responsible for it, could it be that it was his own self-confinement that drove her off? He just didn't know.

"Well, no use sulking about it." Takeru interrupted his thoughts. "Have you and your men decided on your next move?"

Kahna nodded. "Yeah, we're heading for the old base in Philippines, and we're gonna decide our next actions from there."

Takeru nodded in approval. "All right, then. I'll accompany you there. No sense in making any foolish moves right now. I suggest you have the Gundams loaded onto a carrier, as soon as possible, just in case. I don't want OZ getting their hands on them, should they find this base."

"Right, I'll see to it, right away. We're already loading the families of the soldiers onto carriers. Anyway, it won't be too long till that's done." Kahna followed up with Takeru, increasing the rate of his pace to keep up with the long strides of the taller man. "Once we're all finished, all carriers will be launching. We should be leaving the base, by morning's light, tomorrow."

"Not soon enough." Takeru said bluntly. "We leave, as soon as everything's ready, on the mark. There's something I have to take care of, though, so I'll see you in a few hours."

Kahna paused at the corridor, watching Takeru continue on. "What are you gonna do?" he called after him.

"There's something I want to check on." Takeru called over his shoulder, then vanished around a corner.

Just as he had thought. Inori's room was mostly empty. The only things she had left were a couple things of clothing, her pocketknife, which he absentmindedly dropped into his own pocket, and an oddball, portable video game. He arced an eyebrow in skepticism. He knew that Inori was an anime fan, and that she liked video games, but the portable thing was a bit much, even for her.

Her duffel bag was gone, her gun, even the small bag of plastic explosives that she had apprehended from the armory. He was certain now that she hadn't just left to get away from all the pressures of the base, she was going to do something, perhaps another mission, or something else. He didn't question why she had left the Azure with Kahna, that would be pointless, and it wasn't as if she were here to explain anything. Besides, he knew that Kahna would keep her Gundam safe, as she did.

With a slight sigh, Takeru turned about and closed the door behind him. There wasn't any reason for him to remain here, while it would only stir up unnecessary questions. His footsteps clicked down the marble-floored hallway, but they were drowned out by his thoughts He remembered how he had last seen Inori, the angered light in her eyes as she glanced back at him, and asked him just what it was that he was fighting for. He felt himself clench his fist, in some personal anger, but he didn't know just what it was that he was angry at.

Once at the door to his own room, he quietly shut it behind himself, and threw himself on the bed. Staring up at the ceiling, he clasped his hands behind his head. He lay like that for a long time, absorbing the silence, letting his thoughts drift about the emptiness of the room. He was lulled into closing his eyes, and he instantly conjured a mental image of what seemed to be so long ago. He and Inori, they were working together, around the exposed core of his Gundam, working to free a piece of shrapnel. Using his great strength he freed the metal shard. He had overestimated how much strength he needed, and was falling backwards, flailing helplessly, with nothing to grab onto. Something caught his free arm, holding him steady, and pulling him back. Inori had caught him, and she eased him back into a balanced position. Their eyes met, and something had caught between them. A miniscule flame of trust, small, but burning steady. Takeru had broken that fragile moment by looking away hurriedly. He hadn't known what to make of it.

His eyes opened slowly, and he found himself staring at the blankness of the ceiling once again. He hadn't wanted to remember that, but he hadn't been able to think of much else, at the moment. The weight of his exhaustion finally hit him, with full force, and he felt his eyes closing again. With a helpless shrug, he let sleep come to him. Silently, he prayed for a dreamless sleep.

Kahna wiped the sweat away from his brow, as the desert sun beat down upon him. Even though he wore according attire over his slacks, dress shirt and vest, the heat still seeped through, making him feel as if he were being boiled without water. Still, he handled it all with a smile. It was important that everyone get on board the carriers, so they could leave soon. He knew that, just by being visible, he was encouraging his men, just a little more. Besides that, he needed to feel the hands-on experience of helping his men and their families. It was hard work, that left him smiling with pride. It was truly soul cleansing, standing alongside the people, helping them with things that were too heavy. Kahna felt his spirit lifting, every time one of the children smiled up at him, or when he was thanked by one of his people. For the sensation of purity left within him, Kahna could handle a little heat and hard work.

"Nearly all the people are loaded, master Kahna." He heard Sadam's voice beside him. Kahna looked up at the much taller man with a smile.

"That's good. How about the Mobile Suits?"

"They have already loaded all four Gundams into a separate carrier, which is also carrying some food stuffs." Sadam responded. "Almost all of the Maganacs and Oliphants have been loaded up as well, all we have left are those Aries and Leo Mobile Suits. We won't load them, till last."

"All right, then. Good work, Sadam." Kahna turned back towards the carriers being loaded with civilians. He cracked a smile, rubbing a sleeve across his forehead to rid himself of the sweat. With his arm shielding his eyes from the sun, Kahna stared out across the desert with a saddened smile. It would be hard to leave this place, even though he knew it was for the better. The desert had always held a surrealistic beauty of its own, something unique and untamed. Now, they were leaving it behind, for the safety of their people.

Kahna started to turn his gaze away from the desert horizon, knowing that he should return to work. In the far distance, he caught a glimpse of sunlight shining off of something metal. He stopped short, blinking his eyes, and squinting them to see clearly through hot, wavering air. Something, less then a shadow, seemed to be slowly approaching them. Kahna wiped away his sweat, shielding his eyes to get a better look.

"Seeing some sort of mirage, Master Kahna?" Sadam joked from beside him.

"I don't think so." Kahna returned solemnly. "Hand me a pair of binoculars, would you?"

Sadam provided Kahna with his own binoculars, and the young Winner heir squinted through, looking as far towards the horizon as he could. He nearly caught his breath in horror. There were hundreds of them, marching slowly, their black armor absorbing the heat of the desert sun, and making them appear to be no more than mere shadowy wisps on the sand. Kahna handed Sadam his binoculars with a grim look.

"Have the civilians loaded immediately, and inform all soldiers that we'll soon be under attack." He said flatly. "Once those shuttles have loaded, launch them immediately, two Mobile Suit escorts to each of them." With that said, Kahna took off in the direction of the base.

"Master Kahna, what did you see?" Sadam shouted after him.

"Something bad!" Kahna shouted back over his shoulder. It took him a few minutes to get to the control room, even with all the short cuts he knew. When he arrived, he was out of breath, and panting for air, but he still managed to give orders to sound the alarms. Very soon, the warning of an oncoming mass of Virgo S units was spread throughout the base, soldiers were scrambling to get into any of the remaining Mobile Suits that hadn't been loaded into carries. Kahna was running down the halls himself. He needed to find Takeru, and get him to his Gundam.

"Takeru!" his voice echoed through the halls. "Takeru, where are you?"

Out of nowhere, a hand reached out and spun Kahna about, stopping the breathless young man in his tracks. Takeru looked down at him with an arced brow, and Kahna noticed that he was carrying a duffel bag of sorts.

"Where are the Gundams?" Takeru asked flatly. Kahna almost sighed in relief, but instead just nodded his head, and gestured for Takeru to follow him. The two Gundam pilots sprinted down the hallways of the base, Kahna leading the way. He opened the door to an underground hangar, where the carrier with the four Gundams lay in silence. Kahna fished around in his pockets for his goggles, watching as Takeru agilely leapt atop the Neo, as it lay across the ground transport. Pulling himself up, and into the cockpit of the Sandrock II, Kahna quickly strapped himself in. He snapped his goggles over his eyes, as the cockpit sealed with a steely hiss. The screens came to life with a pale light, the Sandrock's green eyes flashing in the darkness as it rose from a laying position. Looking across the way, Kahna saw that the Neo had already risen from the Ground transport, its eyes glowing eerily. Takeru's face appeared on the screen, his eyes dark.

"You and I will strike at the enemy first, in a frontal assault." He stated. "I'll use the Neo's buster rifle for the initial assault, then you'll come in with the Sandrock. I'll circle in, and attack them from above."

Takeru turned the Neo and backed it out of the carrier, Kahna following closely behind, as the great door lifted from the sands, allowing the Gundams access to escape.

"Have one of your men get this carrier off the ground, I want the Azure and Seraph far away from this battle." Takeru ordered, without leaving Kahna any room for argument.

"I wish Inori were here." Kahna found himself saying aloud, once he had done as Takeru had ordered.

"Wishing never won any battles." Takeru replied, and cut out visual communications. Turbines roaring to life, the two Gundams launched from the hangar, their green eyes glowing with battle lust.

There were hundreds of them, a massive force of Virgo S units, marching across the burning sands of the Arabian Desert. The black of their armor absorbed the heat from the sun, light glinted only off of the antennae on their humanoid heads, and off of the enhanced beam rifles and cannons they carried. They were still a long way from the base, but they made no attempt to disguise their movements. It was without doubt that their commanders already knew for the base to be on alert, but the seemed undaunted by the fact. This was no mere probing attack on their defenses. It was an all-out assault. OZ had declared war against the Maganac Corps.

Takeru intended to respond to that declaration personally.

The white-hot blast caught the approaching units off guard. It tore through the ranks of Mobile Suits, burning them away into ashes finer than sand. There were still countless other suits, however, and they opened fire in the direction his attack had come from. Despite the human complexity the Virgo S units possessed, they were only so much more difficult to fight than Mobile Dolls.

With the Sandrock's shield held out before it defensively, Kahna sent his Gundam rocketing forward. Its twin shotels were held under the shield in a pincer-like fashion, and rounds exploded from the vulcans mounted on the head. He pulled the machine cannon from where it was stored, the giant, Uzi-like weapon spitting round after round at the oncoming horde. Most of his distance attacks broke through, damaging several Virgos, even destroying a couple. Eventually, though, the bullets were repelled as they formed a single, unified electromagnetic shield with their planet protectors. Kahna stopped wasting bullets, storing away his machine cannon once the shield was up. It was the same move Takeru had predicted them to make. Firing his thrusters, he screamed away from the oncoming Virgos, knowing what would happen next.

High above the battlefield, hovering in bird mode, Takeru initiated the Neo's transformation. The lower torso twisted, bringing the legs about. The nose of the plane separated into arms, the shield remaining on the left arm, the twin buster rifle separating into two parts, a rifle in each hand. Takeru snapped the two buster rifles together, creating a singular, all-powerful weapon. After a brief moment of choosing a target to lock onto, Takeru fired the weapon, the powerful blast blazing white-hot, as it tore into the Virgo S units below, and into the earth beneath them. Its incredible heat ate through the sand, melting it into a glass crater, that shivered in the aftermath of the blast.

The remaining Virgos divided their fire. The frontline troops focused on the dodging Sandrock, and the majority of central troops aimed upwards towards Takeru in the Neo. Snorting, the Gundam pilot reverted the Neo back into bird mode, directing it in a dive towards the enemy below. Pulling up at the last second, barely a few feet off the ground, the Neo cut into the enemy ranks with its wings, screaming by at speeds too fast for the Virgos to react in time.

Farther off on the front of the battlefield, Kahna used Takeru's dive to his advantage, sending the Sandrock II hurtling forward. The pincers formed by its twin shotels caught a Virgo S between them, and began to squeeze at its sides. The razor edge of the Gundanium blades cut into the Virgo's armor, severing it across the waist, and rendering it helpless, and unable to fight. Not wanting to be caught by surprise, Kahna quickly separated the two blades, and dove into the Virgo ranks. Blades flashed left and right, biting into Virgo armor, severing appendages, and sometimes torsos. The Sandrock jumped high, bringing its twin shotels back, high above its head. With a mighty swing, it severed two Virgos down their centers, and they exploded quickly after.

As Kahna hacked himself a path of destruction and carnage, Takeru turned the Neo around for another swift pass. As he approached the Virgo swarm, he quickly transformed the Neo back into a Mobile Suit, giving himself the extra speed he wanted. From the socket on the left shoulder, he drew a beam saber, holding the blade straight before him. The Neo crashed into the electromagnetic shield, his sheer speed forcing the Virgo backwards, and impaling it on his beam saber. Pulling up, he forced the blade to cut through the Virgo's cockpit, and up through the head. The Neo came to an abrupt halt, while the exploding Virgo continued on, ramming into two others, and destroying them with itself. Takeru quickly spun the Neo to one side, bringing the beam saber across in a wicked side-slash that cut through the torso of another Virgo. Unable to stop himself, he cracked a cynical smile. It didn't seem to matter how many Virgos they destroyed, there always seemed to be more, appearing from nowhere.

"At least we've stopped their advance!" he heard Kahna's voice crackle over the radio.

"That won't make much of a difference, if the civilian carriers haven't launched, yet." Takeru grunted as his shield took the impact from a beam cannon's blast. "Do you know if any of the shuttles have launched?"

"No!" Kahna growled through gritted teeth. He raised the Sandrock's shield to divert an attack. "I've been so busy fighting, I haven't even so much as glanced back-ergh!"

An attack from behind caught Kahna off guard. He felt the Sandrock tumbling forward. Barely able to think, he remembered something Inori had told him, about how she rolled the Azure to prevent the enemy from catching her off her feet. Using that knowledge, Kahna quickly changed the angle at which the Sandrock held its shotels. The Gundam caught its fall with its hands, and the feet kicked off the ground, the head and chest ducking to prevent any damage up top. Almost precariously, the Sandrock rolled up off the ground, and back onto its feet, shotels still in hand, before yet another Virgo S unit. Staying with the flow, Kahna sliced both shotels upwards, severing the Virgo's arms. He quickly reversed the direction, angling his blades inward just enough to cut through to the Virgo's cockpit.

"Impressive recovery." Takeru grunted quietly, thrusting his beam saber into the cockpit of another Virgo. "But, how many times do you think you'll be able to do that?"

"Enough times, I hope!" Kahna responded through gritted teeth. He tasted blood in his mouth, but knew it to be from a superficial wound. He had bit into his lip in that tumble, so he wasn't too concerned with it. One shotel cut hard across to the right, slicing through one Virgo, and cutting into the chest armor of a second.

"Master Kahna!" he heard the voice like something out of the past, and for a split moment, he dared to hope that it was Razul, crying out to him, and announcing that he had come to assist him. "Master Kahna, all civilian-loaded carriers have launched, as have the majority of our loaded Mobile Suit carriers!"

The second time he heard the voice, he finally recognized it to belong to Sadam. Even so, he still heaved a sigh of relief at the man's good news.

"You two should get back to the base!" Sadam shouted to be heard, "We have a pilot waiting at the Gundam carrier, for you. Load your Gundams quickly, and take off! We'll cover you!"

As if to accentuate his words, a shower of bullets cut into the armor of a Virgo beside him, destroying the unprotected Mobile Suit. Kahna turned the Sandrock in Takeru's direction, watching as the Neo dispatched another three Virgos.

"Takeru?" he posed the question to him without saying it to him.

He heard a rough grunt, as the Neo raised its shield to block the blast from a beam rifle.

"Do it." Takeru ordered.

"All right, we're retreating now!" Kahna shouted over the radio to Sadam. "We'll take off once our Gundams are loaded. But don't you men dare die! Once you think you've held them off long enough, retreat, and load your own Mobile Suits, then get the hell out of here!"

The Neo rocketed past him in bird mode, and Kahna didn't waste any further time in retreating. He turned the Sandrock about, stowing its shotels on its back, and leaving battlefield at a run. It was some distance to the launch runway, and by the time he arrived, the Neo had already been loaded. He was forced to maneuver the Sandrock around the Neo, since Takeru had positioned his mobile Suit for a drop, should the need arise. Once the Sandrock was back on its ground transport, the carrier's cargo doors sealed with a hiss. Kahna leapt from the cockpit, just as the engines were firing up. He felt the carrier lifting off, and he ran into the cockpit of the plane.

With a smile of gratitude to the pilot, he took up the radio, switching it to the Maganac Corps' general frequency.

"Sadam! We've launched!" he spoke hurriedly. "I repeat, we've launched! All Maganac corps units in battle, retreat to the base, and load your Mobile Suits for launch! Retreat, now!"

Kahna repeated his orders over the radio, until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up in surprise, to see Takeru looking down at him. He pulled Kahna away from the radio, and took the speaker from his hand, replacing it on the radio.

"Kahna, they've heard you." He said slowly, without tone. "The last of the carriers are taking off, now."

Kahna took a moment to absorb Takeru's words. With a sigh, he deflated himself, and fell into the copilot's seat, which was currently unoccupied, since the copilot had gone to tie down Kahna's Sandrock II. Kahna looked up at Takeru with a somewhat forlorn look.

"So, all the men escaped." He stated more than asked. Takeru nodded.

"Without casualties." He said flatly. "It's a good thing you noticed those Virgos approaching when you did, but there's going to be a problem, now."

Kahna raised his eyebrows in concern. "What?"

Takeru looked back into the cargo bay of the ship, where all four Gundams lay at rest. "Our Gundams are going to need repairs, again, and your Sandrock's taken quite a beating. It may be a while before it's usable again."

Kahna thought about Takeru's words, then looked back at his own Gundam. His eyes glanced over the Azure, and farther still, to the rebuilt form of the Seraph. His pale blue orbs steeled over in determination.

"Then I'll use the Seraph." He said bluntly.

Takeru turned towards him in surprise, his expression as devoid of emotion as ever. "You know just as well as I do that you can't handle the Seraph's piloting system. While it's not the ZERO system, for an untrained soldier like yourself to take it up, the results could be worse than when Quatre lost control inside the Wing ZERO."

"I'll take my chances." Kahna said firmly. He took a few steps towards the cargo bay, balling his hands into fists. "The only way we're going to win these battles against OZ is to become stronger. We need to have power that's on par with theirs. Even the Neo Wing ZERO, when you fought against Rem in the Omen, with all of its power, the only thing that prevented Rem from killing you right off was your own skill.

"The Gundams are going to have be rebuilt, to compensate for the fluctuation in power. The Seraph has already had adjustments made to it. Inori oversaw its reconstruction, and had the engineers make improvements to the system, so its working better than when it was first built. I can have my men do the same thing to the Neo and the Azure, even though I know Inori probably wouldn't agree. Still, my men are the ones most familiar with the new Gundams, and I'm sure they can improve them, just like they did the Seraph."

Kahna turned to Takeru, his eyes determined. "Well? What do you say, Takeru?"

Folding his arms across his chest, Takeru glanced down at the floor in thought. He raised his eyes to the Neo, which knelt at the far back of the carrier. Kahna's proposal seemed plausible, and it was true that they would need more in the way of military strength, if they were going to defeat OZ. Just to face Rem, once again, Takeru knew that improvements needed to made to his Gundam. Takeru looked up at Kahna.

"All right, I'll allow it." He approved. "However, I'm not just going to let you use the Seraph. You have to prove to me, and to someone else, that you can handle the Sub-ZERO system, clear enough?"

"Clear enough." Kahna returned. The two pilots both turned to regard the Gundams, speculating on how they would improve upon the already-powerful systems. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, Takeru had a feeling that Inori knew what was going on, and that she was silently applauding the both them. Only one part of their redemption remained. For while both Takeru and Kahna had found their fighting spirit again, they had as of yet to find the reason for which they fought.

_-Lake Victoria Base, Africa_

The shuttle descended on the runway, the sky overhead was dark with night, stars painted across the sky in pale dots of diamond light. The turbines roared aloud, and the tires screeched as they touched the pavement, slowing the plane's speed considerably. The reverse thrusters kicked in, slowing the plane further, and bringing it to a docking speed.

Rem stood at the base of the stairs that the plane would be pulling up to, his red uniform standing out starkly in the darkness. It was a uniform like the one worn by Zechs Merquise, so many decades ago, with white pants and polished black boots. The dress code of the uniform forced him to tie back his shoulder-length obsidian hair, in a low ponytail, so the entirety of his darkly handsome face could be seen. Black eyes, like jaded marble, glinted within the darkness, holding a cold intensity unique only to Rem. He stared up the stairs, his hands clasped behind his back. His face was blank, his lips pursed together to make a thin line.

The shuttle came up to the stairs, slowing its speed, and then stopping altogether. The stairs were pushed forward, as the door of the shuttle opened. The soldiers snapped to attention, shouldering their rifles. Rem only breathed a deep sigh through his nostrils, dusting off a firefly as it landed on his black cape. From within the shadows of the shuttle's doorway, a tall, cutting figure emerged. He wore the blue uniform of a high-ranking commander, a black cloak draped over his left shoulder. His light brown hair had been neatly combed back, his eyes a deep blue, and a thin smile on his lips. He looked down the stairs, at the Gundam pilot who stood at its base, and his smile only spread wider.

Rem saluted sharply to the man as he came down the stairs. Despite the man's height, he was still somewhat shorter than Rem's own six-foot-two average. He waved away Rem's salute, and greeted him with a handshake.

"Good to see you wearing your old uniform, Rem." He commented with a smile.

"Thank you, Mister Lazarus." Rem gave a short bow. "It's good to see yourself, as well."

Sven Lazarus nodded to his lieutenant, and began to make his way down the red-carpeted path that led to the base. He gestured for Rem to keep step beside him. "I trust that the Omen meets your expectations?"

"More than that, sir." Rem added with a smirk of obvious pleasure.

Lazarus gave a short laugh. "A man of few words, just as always." He gave Rem an approving glimpse. "And, do you have the information we assigned you to appropriate?"

Rem nodded. "The identities and appearances of the other two Gundam pilots, as well as the data on their Gundams."

"And what about the Gundam that was built by Crow that you flew?"

"Destroyed. I self-detonated the thing in Siberia. With all due respect, sir, the Omen is a far superior machine."

"Excellent." Lazarus paid no heed to the saluting guards as he entered the Lake Victoria Base. "That's just what I wanted to hear from you, Rem. Now, what say you we retreat to a more private location so we can discuss the information you have for me?"

"Sir, quarters have been prepared for you." Rem stepped before his commanding officer. "I'll show you the way."

"So… Inori Kazama, and Takeru Yuy." Lazarus looked over the files Rem had handed to him. "A lunar base Taurus Elite member, and the descendant of the legendary Perfect Soldier, Heero Yuy. I'm surprised that we didn't find Peacecraft's name on the list."

Rem shook his head. "No, the descendant of Zechs Merquise and Lucrezia Noin, Julian Peacecraft, is now currently working alongside the resistance forces in outer space. We have reason to believe that he may be the commander of their forces."

"Hmph, I'm surprised he didn't name the faction White Fang." Lazarus slapped the file closed, dropping it on the desk.

Rem approached the table, taking up the file. "It's a slight matter. The resistance forces pose little threat. Once I've finished up with the two remaining Gundam pilots, here on earth, I'll head to space with Omen. I'll annihilate the entire force, and Peacecraft, single-handedly."

Lazarus considered Rem with an amused smile, clasping his hands before his pursed lips. "You sound rather sure of yourself."

"I'm a Gundam pilot, Sven." He said bluntly, dropping Lazarus' formal title. "And the Omen is my Gundam. I'm a match for either Heero Yuy in the original Wing ZERO, or Zechs Merquise in the Epyon. What makes you think that I couldn't destroy the resistance?"

"True enough." Lazarus admitted with a short laugh. "And I've known you long enough to know that you're not just bragging."

"I never boast." Rem said flatly.

"Yes, I know." Lazarus turned his chair around, staring out into the night sky of Africa through his window. "The truth is, you are the only threat to my control here at OZ. You are the only one strong enough to even possibly control OZ, should I be killed."

Rem said nothing, only waited patiently for Sven's further words.

"You are the only one who would truly benefit from my death." He continued, "And that is why I made you my Lieutenant. What is that saying? A truly wise leader keeps his friends close, and his enemies closer."

Rem narrowed his eyes, quietly balling one hand into a fist. Beneath sealed lips, he ground his teeth together. He regarded Lazarus' back with a grim stare.

"You, Rem, are both my friend and enemy." Lazarus stared out the window as he spoke. "Which is why I must keep you closer to me than I would a gun at my side."

"True enough." Rem had to agree with Sven's reasoning.

The foundations of the base were shaken, and the sound of an explosion echoed throughout the base. Rem was forced to grasp at the desk at which Sven sat to keep his balance, while Lazarus himself clung to his chair. Once the initial vibrations had ended, both men looked out the window to see smoke pouring fourth from the barracks at the south end of the base.

"An attack?" Lazarus rose from his chair.

"It must be one of the Gundams." Rem reasoned. "I shouldn't be surprised if Takeru followed me after he fled Australia."

"Well, then I suggest you go out and kill him. Now." Sven ordered with surprising calm. Rem narrowed his eyes, nodding his head. Whether his anger was directed at Lazarus, or at Takeru, it couldn't be told.

"Where's the Omen being held?"

"In the southeast hangar."

"Then let's hurry, and get to it, shall we?"

The building shook with the force of a second explosion, this one coming from the north end of the base. Both Rem and Lazarus made their way through the halls, soldiers who hurried past them scrambled to get out of their way, not wanting to offend Lazarus, or to enrage the dangerous Gundam pilot. Another series of explosions followed them all the way to the Omen's dock. The Rem opened the door, and proceeded through, followed closely by Lazarus.

"Where the hell are those damn guards?" Rem growled. "Bloody cowards."

"You probably scared them off with your reputation." Lazarus stated simply.

"True enough, but not quite."

Both men looked up at the sound of the melodious voice, to the slender form of a Mobile Suit engineer, sitting casually across the rail of the catwalk, a gun in hand, and aimed in their direction. The engineer looked up, intense orbs of icy blue glittering at them from beneath the ball cap.

"While Rem does seem to have a hideous reputation among the soldiers of the base, I'm afraid that they aren't around, because they're a little, uh, indisposed, at the moment. Or rather, 'in disposal'."

Lazarus turned to shout out the door, but found himself too slow.

"Ah-ah-ah!" the engineer teased, and the door seemed to close of its own volition. Surrounded by a pale blue glow, the door bolted itself shut. "We don't want anyone interrupting our little party, now do we?"

"Psionics?" Lazarus asked, turning back towards their mysterious gunman.

"You got it, buck-wheat." The engineer pushed off the rail, walking towards them. "I'm a ninth-generation psionic. A fully loaded package-"

The engineer tossed off the ball cap, revealing the face of a young woman. Her long hair was darker than even Rem's, and her eyes sparkled with an intensity that could stop a charging beast short. Lazarus recognized her from Rem's report.

"Well, well. Miss Inori Kazama." He said, bowing low. "A pleasure to meet a Gundam pilot of your caliber, and beauty."

"Shove it." She said as politely to Lazarus as she could, which wasn't very polite. "And it wasn't very intelligent for either of you to come all this way under an attack, without at least carrying a gun. Now, I do admit, I was only expecting Rem, here, but, hey. Two for the price of one is just my kinda sale."

She aimed her gun at Rem's head. "Lucky me." She said in a flat tone of voice. Her smirk dropped, and she pulled the trigger. Rem ducked to avoid the bullet, charging Inori, and ramming into her, driving her backwards. It made her drop her gun, but she wasn't about to let Rem take her out so easily. Spinning to one side, she got out of Rem's tackle, and she fell back into a Jyu-jutsu stance, her fists raised before her defensively. She followed up with a fast kick in Rem's mid-section, then round-housed him in the face, driving him back clutching a bleeding nose. Inori charged in, a low grunt coming from her throat as she attacked with a one-two combo, followed up by a spinning kick aimed for Rem's face. This time, he was able to recover fast enough to dodge the attack. He faked a knee-kick, then came in with a hard right hook. Inori managed to block the punch, and then twisted his arm around his back, standing beside him, as if they were making a single line. Rem grunted with pain as she brought her leg up straight, and hit him hard in the face once, twice, three times in succession before releasing him.

Rem stumbled away, spinning about, and assuming a defensive stance, he glared at the shorter, and much more agile Inori. She was obviously a skilled martial arts practitioner, which was why his fake hadn't worked. His eyes narrowed, and a thin smile played across his lips. Wiping blood away from the corner of his mouth, he reassumed a new stance, and gestured for the girl to make the next move.

Her face grim, Inori came in slowly. Back when she had been studying under her master, Inori's style for changing tactics had been legendary, and she used this to her advantage, now. She faked a probing knee attack, then changed the probing attack into three fast kicks, the first aimed at Rem's head, the second his mid-section, and then again at his head. Rem managed to dodge each one, but she followed up by bringing her right arm across in a feigned Judo chop. While Rem was blocking her attack to the upper portion of his body, he failed to notice her right foot as it came sweeping across, taking his feet out from under him. Unable to hold onto his balance, Rem fell onto his back with a hard sound. Inori withdrew her last kick, and brought her leg up high, in a heel-drop aimed for his throat. Rem caught her descending foot, and twisted her leg, making the slender young woman twist and fall.

Rem smirked, assuming he had the girl where he wanted, and brought a leg up to drop down hard onto her midsection. Inori kicked free of his grasp, and rolled backwards into a handstand, and back onto her feet, just avoiding getting the wind knocked out of her. Rem likewise stood up, and the two soldiers regarded each other coldly.

Rem was the first to attack, this time, faking two low punches, followed by a low gut-punch. Inori blocked his attack by turning to one side, and quickly followed up by smashing her elbow into his jaw. Rem retaliated with a backhand that connected squarely with her cheekbone. The hit forced her spinning away, but she daren't lose her balance, and recovered quickly enough. Not about to let Rem get the upper hand, she quickly arced over backwards, and her backwards cartwheel caught Rem fully in the face. He stumbled away, one hand to his face.

Once back on her feet, Inori charged with a primal cry, coming in with all her speed. She drove a vicious uppercut into his stomach, then cracked his forehead on her knee. She stepped back, then kicked a high roundhouse at his face. Rem recovered faster then she expected, and blocked her kick with an arm, wrapping his arm around her leg, and sweeping her other foot out from beneath her. Inori fell hard onto her back, she was almost certain she had heard something pop out of place. Pinning her to the ground with his knee, Rem's hand shot for her throat, gaining a stranglehold before her flailing arms had time to react to the speed.

Inori grasped at Rem's hand, trying to pry his fingers free. His hand was like a vice, and his iron-strong grasp did not relent. He began to squeeze at her throat, pinching her jugular closed.

"How does it feel, Inori?" he spat in a taunting voice, "To be so helpless against someone you had so much of an advantage over?"

"I…still…have the…advantage!" she gasped, releasing his hands, and grasping the sides of his face, almost caressing him. Her hair stirred about her, as if caught in some unknown breeze. Her pale orbs of icy blue began to glow with an eerie light, and she was surrounded by an aura of similar color. Too late, Rem realized what it was that she was doing. He tried to pull away, but she had already made skin-to-skin contact with him. With an almost righteous anger, Inori dove into his mind, telepathically shattering any mental barriers Rem had set.

"How does it feel, to know you just killed yourself?" Inori retorted, heaving Rem's limp form off of herself, while maintaining their physical contact. His eyes had assumed the same bluish glow that hers had. She assaulted every aspect of his mentality that she could, shattering the mental structure that held his mind together.

"By the time I'm finished with you, you'll be nothing more than a vegetable!" she snapped, fighting fiercely to maintain control over her dangerous telepathy.

"Too bad I can't allow that."

Inori started at the sound of Lazarus' voice. How could she have forgotten him! She turned to look in his direction, her eyes glowing dangerously. She couldn't use any other psionics while using telepathy, and if she broke her physical contact with Rem, she wouldn't be able to telepathically restrain his nerves to prevent his reactions. Her eyes widened, as she saw her own gun in his hands. Lazarus only shrugged, and smiled helplessly, a single brow upraised.

The gunshot echoed ominously in the air, hanging about like a thick fog. Inori was too stunned to even cry out. All she felt was a mind-shattering pain, and then found herself lying with her back on the floor, at least three feet away from Rem's still form. The bullet had only struck her in the shoulder, but it had been enough to make her tumble over herself twice.

Lazarus smirked, but his face fell as both the eyes of Inori and Rem began heightening in their glow, changing into a brilliant luminance that forced him to look away. He heard both their screams, filled with utter anguish, almost as if their voices had merged into one single note of utter torment. It forced him to cover his ears, he couldn't stand the pain of the crescendoing voices. It seemed to go on for an unbearable amount of time, Lazarus covering his ears, and pinching his eyes shut, even crying aloud with agony. Then, all at once, it stopped.

Lazarus snapped his eyes open, slowly uncovering his ears. There was no sound, no radiant light. Only the two forms of both Rem and Inori, sprawled helplessly on the ground. Making certain the safety was off on his acquired weapon, Lazarus slowly approached the two. Rem was unconscious, so Lazarus didn't bother checking on him. Inori was something different. She lay as if dead, her eyes open, but not registering. Lazarus put the gun to her temple, before checking for a pulse. She had one, but still made no move. He waved a hand in front of her eyes, snapped his fingers, even slapped her hard across the face. She made no move, but was comatose, with her eyes wide open. Lazarus drew away skeptically, almost unable to believe what had just happened.

A groan from Rem drew his attention away from the catatonic Gundam pilot. He turned about, keeping his gun in hand, not certain of what had happened. The young OZ lieutenant sat up, bending one knee, and resting his head against his leg. He rubbed at his temple, as if trying to massage a headache away.

"Rem?" Lazarus asked softly, "Did she get to your mind?"

Rem's hand dropped to the cement, and his shoulders began to shake softly. For a moment, he thought Rem was crying, until his laughter became more vocal. The OZ lieutenant threw his head back, and laughed in a strange, morbidly delighted fashion. He laughed loud and long, reaching a hand up to his face, and clawing down the side, drawing blood from himself. Lazarus fell back in astonishment. After a long moment, Rem's laughter subsided, and the tall young man stood, his hands hanging limply at his sides, his shoulders still visibly shaking.

"Rem?" Lazarus called out a second time, uncertain of his lieutenant. The young man turned his bleeding face to one side, to regard Lazarus. His lips were tightly sealed in a grimace, and his eyes were wide, as if he were enraged, or terribly frightened. His pupils had shrunk to only small dots, but it was impossible enough to see in the obsidian coloring of his eyes. It was almost as if the irises of his eyes had shrunk, showing more of the bloodshot whites than the colored orb. The intensity of those eyes, the strange glow held in Rem's gaze, it made Lazarus fall back a step. He held his gun at ready, not certain whether or not he'd have to shoot Rem.

"Angelique..." he stuttered, "What-what's happened to you…?"

_-Abandoned OZ Base, Philippine Islands_

Shortly after arriving at the abandoned base, it became clear to Kahna that, despite the battered condition of the base, he had made the best possible choice. The soldiers and their families were supported with shelter, and plentiful rations. They had begun the repairs to the Mobile Suits almost immediately, and Kahna had already presented his ideas to the engineers who worked on the four Gundams. He had his own ideas for how he wanted the Seraph and Sandrock improved, and Takeru had specified his own modifications for the Neo. The Azure was actually going to give them the most trouble. While it wasn't the strongest of the four suits, it was certainly the most advanced. Equipped with pressure sealed armor, a psi-link, a plasma saber CRESCENT, and a unique thruster system, there wasn't much the men could do to improve it beyond making its armor stronger.

Slowly, the Gundams began to change. Only slightly, no real changes were made to the physical appearance of the Neo or Seraph, and no work would be started on the Azure or Sandrock until those two were first completed. The Seraph's beam cannon received a stronger armor covering, and the twin gundanium scimitars were sharpened and polished. The color scheme was altered entirely, with the body being changed from black to white, with the wings and upper torso being changed to a dark, silvery gray. The red colored eyes were replaced with green ones, and the Seraph began to resemble its name far more than earlier. The engineers came up with ways to improve on the power of the Gundam's enhanced beam cannon, and after many weeks of hard repairs, the rebuilt Gundam Seraph was completed. Kahna renamed it the Gundam Seraph Custom, since the repairs had indeed been custom designs.

The engineers began their work on the Sandrock, but the modifications to the Neo were taking longer than expected. It maintained its original color scheme of a white body, with red, blue, and silver on the torso. They were still in the process of strengthening the armor, and only one of the twin buster rifles had been enhanced. The majority of the Neo's thrusters had been improved, using ideas taken from the Azure's enhanced turbine system, making the Mobile Suit faster both in and out of bird mode. It still had a long while till completion, however.

Kahna found himself wandering the halls of the base. They had been here for the better part of a month and a half, and he still wasn't familiar with the place. He and his men had decided that, since OZ seemed unable to find them, from their lack of movement, they would remain here until all repairs were made, and then decide on their next actions. As an emergency plan, they would be heading for the old museum storage base just south of Moscow that Takeru had recommended, if OZ should find them

Sighing to himself, Kahna paused at an intersection of passageway, glancing down each of the other three directions before finally deciding to take the right passage. He felt rather helpless in this base, since he couldn't seem to learn his way around. He stretched his arms high above his head, yawning with his eyes pinched shut. He continued on like this for a few more steps, before opening them. His eyes widened as he noticed the shadowed form of the figure before him. Realizing how ridiculous he must look, his mouth gaping open, his arms stretched out as if he were piteously attempting to perform some ridiculous sports cheer. Kahna quickly dropped his arms, clamping his mouth shut. He scratched the back of his head, laughing nervously.

"Eh heh heh, um, hi, Takeru." He said, finally deflating.

The Gundam pilot lifted an eyebrow in skepticism, and even a little bit of cynical amusement, but quickly waved the whole thing off.

"C'mon." he said, gesturing for Kahna to follow him. He turned about and began heading in the direction Kahna had been heading in. Kahna hastened his steps to catch up with the faster-paced Takeru, looking at him curiously.

"Um, where are we going?" he asked the taller young man. Takeru stared forward, making no response, he didn't even seem to acknowledge Kahna's presence. The young Winner heir sighed, dropping his gaze to his feet for a moment.

"Guess I'll find out." He mumbled softly. Takeru was always so antisocial. He hardly ever spoke to any of the soldiers beyond the engineers. The most he had ever spoken to Kahna had been in the library, and on board the carrier, as they fled from the desert. Even then, it hadn't been much that he'd said. Kahna wondered how Inori had ever gotten him to say more than two words to her, but somehow, Takeru seemed to be more vocal, when she was around.

Kahna dropped his eyes as he thought about the Gundam pilot that had vanished. How long did Inori intend to stay away? He was getting worried, especially since she probably didn't know where they had gone. He could only hope that she was all right, for now.

Through passageways that seemed to get more familiar as they went, Takeru led Kahna on. He never said a word, just walked on in the directions he chose. Kahna guessed that Takeru probably knew his way around the base better than he did, and couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed. Eventually, they came out into the open space of the Mobile Suit hangars. Takeru led the way along the catwalks, skipping by the Maganacs and Oliphants, heading towards the Gundams. The cockpits of all Gundams, with the exception of the Neo, were closed. The Azure remained untouched, and the Sandrock was under heavy construction. The Neo itself, while seeming mostly finished, still had a lot of work to be done on it. The Seraph stood on the farthest end, complete and looking like new, with its new paint job, and polished armor.

They stopped before the Neo's open cockpit, Takeru crawling inside, and falling into the seat. He tapped in a few commands, bringing up the main screen. The face of a strangely familiar old man appeared, and Kahna found himself racking his memory to identify him.

"Here he is." Takeru said flatly, motioning for Kahna to come closer.

"Oh, well, it's been a while, young Mr. Winner, hasn't it?" the old man said, his moustache bristling as he spoke. His eyebrows were bushy and large, and he gave the distinct impression of a befuddled old owl.

"Dr. Crow?" Kahna asked in surprise.

"Huwa-ha! Told ya he'd remember!" the old man squawked. Takeru only folded his arms, and looked away, closing his eyes, and crossing his legs.

"Well, anyway." Crow continued. "Mr. Yuy here has brought it to my attention that you want to become the Seraph's pilot, Mr. Winner."

"Seraph Custom." Kahna corrected without thinking, "And yes, I do want to pilot it. I'm going to need a stronger Mobile Suit, should we ever come up against Rem, or a great OZ force, again. I need the Seraph's power, to help my men, and to help Takeru and Inori better, when I fight with them. Please, Dr. Crow."

Crow was silent for a moment, studying the look on Kahna's face. One of his bushy eyebrows rose surprisingly high, and the corner of his moustache rose in what Kahna took to be a smirk or smile of some sort.

"Is that so?" Crow said, his voice sounding somewhat amused. "Tell me, young Kahna, are you familiar with the Sub-ZERO system?"

Kahna nodded his head. "Yes, it's a pilot enhancement system, much like the ZERO system. Only, where the ZERO system was determined to somehow tap into and enhance any person's psionic abilities, thus the ability to see multiple futures, the Sub-ZERO system connects more directly to the central nervous system, through a special sensory system in the cockpit. It allows the pilot to control his suit as if it were more of an extension of his own body, allowing for better reaction time. However, if the pilot does not maintain control over his emotions and mental stability, the system will register those feelings, and send them back at heightened levels, thus making the pilot loose control, just as the ZERO system did."

Crow seemed to nod as if he were impressed. "You seem to know a lot about it."

"Inori told me about all the new technologies installed in the Gundams." Kahna confessed.

"Ah, yes. Inori." Crow shook his head, as if fondly remembering something. "Did you know that girl actually helped to develop the psi-link for the Azure? She's really a remarkable young woman."

"Do you know where she is?" Takeru cut in, looking at Crow's image for the first time since he turned away.

"Ah, somewhere in Africa, I believe, near the Lake Victoria base." Crow waved away Takeru's question. "But tell me, Kahna, have you ever actually _used_ the Sub-ZERO system?"

At this, Kahna had to lower his head. "No, I haven't."

"Mm-hm." Crow said, nodding. "Just as I thought. Well, unless you know how to master the system, I'm afraid I can't let you use the Seraph. A pilot has to detach their emotions when they use it, and such an emotional young man as yourself would be putting a lot of pressure on himself."

"But, I'm never going to know if I can handle it, if I don't try!-"

"Kahna!" Crow interrupted, almost scolding him. "The Sub-ZERO system requires delicate handling, it takes a skilled pilot to control. You'd have to prove to me that you can handle it."

Kahna clenched his hand into a fist, his nails digging into his own skin.

"I mean, it's not as if anyone can just fly a Sub-ZERO system first thing. You'll need to be able to either keep yourself from thinking in a battle, or to be able separate your emotions from the rest of your mind while you fight."

Kahna sighed, but he knew that Crow was getting at something. He looked up at Crow's face, from on the screen.

"So, what do I do?" he asked.

Crow pouted his lips, and furrowed his bushy eyebrows together. "Well… we'll see. For now, I'll let you use the simulators in the Seraph's cockpit for practice. After a while of this, we'll see."

"All right, I can live with that." Kahna nodded to the man's face.

"Good, now go and get in the cockpit, so you can start practice!" Crow barked the order, a lot louder than could've been considered polite. It made Kahna jump, and hop away from the Neo. He sprinted down towards the Seraph, opening the cockpit, and clambered inside. Takeru watched all of this, half-amused, half not even caring. He took a short breath, and reclined in his seat, letting his mind go blank.

"Yuy." He heard Crow's voice speak his name more softly, he opened an eye, and gave Crow a blank, lazy expression.

"How long has it been since you've even heard from Inori?" Crow seemed very serious, almost concerned.

"Almost three months." He said, giving Crow the attention of both his eyes. "Why?"

"Did she take the Azure?" Crow pressed.

"No, she didn't."

At this, Crow heaved a great sigh. He seemed almost to deflate before Takeru's eyes, a concerned tone entering his voice. "Fool-headed girl. She should've waited for my response…!"

Takeru raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "What does that mean? Did you send her on some kind of mission?"

"Hmm?" Crow looked up, surprised by Takeru's reaction. "Well, I suppose you could say that. But I didn't order her to take off in such a reckless manner."

"What do you mean by 'suppose', Crow?" Takeru pressed, dropping the old man's title purposely. "What's happened?"

At this, Crow raised both his eyebrows in surprise. "Hmph, maybe I should be the one asking "What do you mean?", since when did you care about what happened to someone else?"

"Just shut up, answer my question."

Crow heaved a heavy sigh. "Before you left the lunar base, I supplanted some emergency objectives into one of the Gundams, the Azure. It was in case of a betrayal by one of the pilots. When I received word from Inori about Rem's betrayal, she said that she was going to follow her emergency objectives, and go after him, and that he was at the Lake Victoria base, in Africa. However, once I received the information concerning Lake Victoria, she had already gone. I couldn't tell her that Lazarus was going to be arriving there."

"When?"

"There is no "when", he's already there."

Takeru felt himself freeze in thought. He knew that Inori must've infiltrated the base, since she obviously didn't want to fight Rem in a Mobile Suit battle. Upon infiltration, she would've learned that Lazarus would be arriving at the base. She probably would've made her move before then, or just as Lazarus arrived. So, what had happened?

"What's going on at the base, now?"

Crow shook his head. "Lazarus is still alive, as far as I know, but there hasn't been any word about him, or Rem. But, if Inori had completed the job, she would've contacted me. I can only presume that she didn't arrive in time to kill him before Lazarus arrived."

Takeru dropped his chin into his palm, closing his eyes tightly. "Then she's failed."

"What?"

"I said she's failed, Rem's still alive, and she's probably been captured, or something like that."

Crow, lowered his gaze. "Yes, I see. And you're going to go and kill her, I presume?"

"Not just her, but Rem, and Lazarus." Takeru said with finality. "I'll end this war, now. Before OZ has a chance to take it further."

Crow heaved a sigh. "Very well. But I ask you, if it's possible, first see what's going on inside the base, before you destroy it. All right?"

Takeru simply nodded. He cut off the communications with Crow, reaching back for the strap. He paused, wondering if he should tell Kahna or not. On a second thought, he decided yes, and pulled himself out of the cockpit, turning towards the Seraph.

The system was intense, even in a simple simulation, it made Kahna feel as if his soul were being bared right before him. He'd barely been on the simulator for very long, only a few minutes, but he was already sweating profusely, just concentrating on keeping control of himself. He couldn't take actual control of the MS, while it was on the simulator, which Kahna was very glad for. If he lost control, he was afraid that he would destroy much of the base, before Takeru could bring him under control. His hands gripped the Seraph's controls, his palms moist. The system was mind shredding, and somewhere in the back of his mind, he began to wonder if Quatre, his great-grandfather, had undergone something similar, when he used the ZERO system.

Without warning, the system gave out, the screen going dark, as the cockpit doors opened with a steely hiss. He looked up in surprise, as the main screen folded back, and he saw Takeru standing just on the catwalk.

"Uh, is something the matter, Takeru?" Kahna asked, taking a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow and palms. He was breathing somewhat heavily-y, from his struggle to maintain control. Takeru stared back at him, quiet, no expression readable on his face, or in his eyes. He jerked his head to one side, indicating that Kahna should follow. The young Arab ran a hand through his short, pale blond hair, un-strapping himself from the seat, and pulling himself from the cockpit. Takeru was already walking along the catwalk, and Kahna was forced to sprint to catch up with him.

"How was the system?" Takeru asked when Kahna came running up to him.

"Intense." Kahna said simply, "_Very_ intense."

They walked on for a while longer, Takeru leading them to the officers quarters used by Kahna. Once inside the somewhat spacious room, he closed the door behind them, walking over to the couch, and dropping down heavily on it. He slouched, propping up his elbows, and staring at the ceiling, crossing his legs casually. Kahna sat on the other side, leaning forward some, and looking at Takeru curiously. After a long moment of silence, Takeru let out a deep sigh.

"I'll be leaving tonight." He said, "I'm going to Lake Victoria."

"Lake Victoria?" Kahna looked surprised, "Isn't that where Crow said that Inori was?"

Takeru nodded, dropping his gaze to look at his feet and at the table. "Inori failed in her mission, and she's now a danger."

"So… you're going to get her, right?" Kahna pressed, an uncomfortable thought nagging at him. "Right, Takeru?"

There was another long pause of silence, and Kahna didn't know whether he should say something or not.

"Who's the woman in the picture?"

Kahna was surprised by his sudden change of topic. He looked where Takeru was pointing, to the picture on the mantle. It was of his great-grandfather, Quatre, one of the few he had.

"Um, her name's Angel. She was my great-grandfather's first wife."

"So, that's Quatre, then?"

"Yes."

"Sadam's right, you do look just like him."

"Takeru, I don't think my physical resemblance to Quatre has anything to-"

He was cut off by the Gundam pilot's upraised hand. Takeru turned his dark chocolate eyes on Kahna, narrowing them to make certain his point came across.

"Inori's a danger, and a liability to our missions now, Kahna. Unless she's found some way to escape, or is still working on killing Rem, as well as Lazarus, she'll be an obstacle, do you understand?"

Kahna bit his lip, his eyes widening. He felt he knew what Takeru would say next, but he didn't want to hear it.

"All obstacles must be eliminated."

Kahna lowered his gaze, pinching his eyes shut to prevent them from watering. His hands balled into fists, in his lap, and he clenched the material of his slacks in anger, and sorrow.

"So… you're going to kill her…"

"If I have to, yes." Takeru rose from his seat. "I thought it'd be best to tell you, before I left. I'll be gone for several days, and I may not even come back. I'll take the Neo, and leave tonight. You keep up your practice in the Seraph, and maybe I'll see you again."

"But!" Kahna looked up quickly, stopping Takeru at the door. "The Neo Custom isn't finished yet!"

"I'll take my chances." Takeru closed the door behind him, leaving Kahna looking after, with eyes that shivered with emotion. He lowered his gaze, clenching at the arm of the sofa.

"Inori…" he whispered softly, hoping that the young woman who had become his friend would survive.

"So, you're leaving now, are you?" the engineer inquired, "Even with your machine only sixty-seven percent completed?"

"This is something I have to take care of. I'm the most familiar with the Neo, and the Azure's calibration is set specifically for a psionic, while the Seraph is currently being used by Kahna, since he's trying to master the Sub-ZERO system. I'll just have to risk it."

The engineer nodded. "Okay, I'll tell tower to open one of the hangar doors for you."

"Thanks." The engineer stepped back as the cockpit sealed on the Neo. Takeru strapped himself into the pilot's seat. He was only taking one of the Neo's twin buster rifles, since the other was mostly useless, at this point. The shield had been remodified, and looked more akin now to that of the original Wing ZERO's, with a tip that could be jabbed into another Mobile Suit, and used as a weapon. Still, he knew the suit had further to go in its modifications. He leaned back in his seat for a moment, staring above himself. He mentally conjured an image of Inori's face, her intense, ice blue eyes, her cocky, double-edged smile. The image darkened over, however, and it was replaced with shadow.

"All obstacles must be eliminated." He reiterated to himself quietly, taking up the controls, and guiding his Mobile Suit out of the dock. Once outside, he converted the Neo into bird mode, knowing that he'd need the extra speed to get to the Lake Victoria base from here. He had already packed the equipment he knew he'd need, so he wasn't too concerned about supplies or provisions. Breathing a sigh out through his nose, Takeru sped the Neo across the sky, the turbines working better than they ever had.

Shortly after Takeru's departure, Kahna returned to the Seraph's cockpit, and began training with a fervor. His hands were practically locked to the controls, and he always came out sweat-soaked, and mentally exhausted. He continued like this for days, only coming out when he was needed, to discuss strategies, or oversee a certain adjustment the engineers had made to the Sandrock II. Kahna trained during the day, and often well into the night, not emerging from the Seraph's cockpit for half the day, or longer. Sometimes, he seemed to come out shaking, his eyes small. He took longer showers, when he could, taking his time to let the warmth sooth his seemingly exhausted body. Using the Sub-ZERO system always left him feeling as if he weren't clean, and that something had seeped through, into his skin. It was during one of these showers, the steaming water running down his spine, that he remembered something about Inori and Takeru. They had both always taken very long showers, just letting the water run over them for long periods of time. Now, he knew why they had those long showers, and some part of him just found it ironically funny.

Once he had showered, and dressed in a clean shirt and slacks, he went back to the cockpit, pushing himself harder than the hours before. To his surprise, he found that he was actually doing quite well. Already, he could react very well to enemy attacks, but he knew he still had a while to go. He was acting more on instinct when he fought, than with any kind of strategy. He needed to fight with his head, again, and be able to respond to others while he fought. It was difficult to do, and he knew it would be a lot harder than he had first anticipated. After all, he knew that Quatre hadn't had time to practice with the ZERO system, so he was getting a lucky break, being given the time to train on the Seraph.

Kahna began living by the moment, because it seemed that there wasn't much else he could do. It was like he were two different people, the Kahna who spoke with his men over strategies against OZ, and oversaw the repairs being made to the Gundams, and the Kahna who was pushing himself beyond his limits, forcing his mental strength to hold out against something he knew would surely consume him, if he let it have the chance. It was a difficult double life to lead, because they both left him exhausted, in more than one way. Still, it was something he had to endure, for the sake of those who fought for him, and for the two brave Gundam pilots that had been so kind.

Now, in the cockpit of the Seraph, his hands clamped to the controls, Kahna could feel his own heart racing in his chest. It pounded against the walls of his ribs like some sort of beast, throbbing with the intensity of his training. His eyes darted from place to place, though he more or less sensed the motions of his enemies, surrounding him in a spherical formation. No doubt, they were hoping to destroy him like that. However, Kahna's endless days of secluded training were paying off, and he was able to select the best way to defeat his enemies. He spread the Seraph's wings wide, rocketing through the top of the sphere, and quickly pointing downwards with the beam cannon that served as the Gundam's left arm. The ensuing blast destroyed the majority of his enemies, as a result of their formation, and only a collection of them was left to defeat. He took up one of the gundanium scimitars, launching towards his enemies. The twin vulcans mounted on the Mobile Suit began spraying bullets into the enemy ranks, even destroying the closest two. By then, Kahna had reached the remaining enemies, and came across with a hard slash. He severed at least three enemy Mobile Suits though their torsos, but he continued on at high speed, screaming through their ranks. He spun about a second time, bringing the beam cannon to bear. He aimed, and fired. A series of explosions ensued, with the remaining Mobile Suits being destroyed.

**Simulation Ended**

The screens cleared on the Seraph, glowing with their pale light. The readouts from his test showed on the central screen. Kahna scanned them over, trying to catch his breath. A hand rested over his heart, as if he could physically slow its frantic pace. His pale blue eyes skimming over the information, he allowed himself to crack a smile. That was the best he had done on that particular simulation. He could still remember how, just a few days ago, the screen would've been reading **Mission: Failed. Mobile Suit Destroyed. Simulation Terminated**, instead of what he read now. He was getting better, much better, in fact. He couldn't help but feel a little pride at that. Still, the system itself was still giving him a tough time, and he hadn't been able to test himself in an actual battle. He was getting better, but he still didn't know if that was good enough, or not.

He lowered his head, once he had finished with the readouts. He steadied his breathing, wanting to regain his composure before he tried another simulation. A thought of Takeru, and of Inori, passed through his mind. He couldn't help sighing, closing his eyes to block out the light from the screen. What was going with them? Had Takeru found her? If so, had he killed her? He didn't want to think about that possibility. He couldn't think about it.

"Not bad." The familiar voice of some old man snapped Kahna to attention, his gaze coming up. Just to the right of the top of the readout, a small box appeared, with Dr. Crow's face peering at him with his beady eyes.

"For someone who began training with the system only a short while ago, you've been doing quite admirably, Kahna." Crow gave him a confident smirk.

"Uh, well, thank you, I think." Kahna stuttered, surprised by the communication.

"Hmm." Crow seemed to be evaluating him, and a long pause ensued. "Tell me, Kahna, did you just let Takeru run off on his own?" Crow finally asked.

"Uh, well, yeah." Kahna confessed, feeling a little ashamed. "But, what could I do? There's no way I could've stopped him from leaving, and it's not as if he's one of my men. I can't just order him to stay."

"True enough." Crow conceded. "But what's there to stop you from following him?"

This comment caught Kahna by surprise, leaving him speechless for a moment.

"Well," he began, "It is too dangerous for the Maganac Corps to expose ourselves, just yet, and the Sandrock II's still under repair for its modifications."

"So?"

Once again, Crow's blunt words, or rather, word, left Kahna confused.

"But, I couldn't take one of the Gundams. Up until now, I'd have lost complete control of myself, if I had tried."

"So, what's to stop you from leaving now?"

"I-I haven't had any real battle training in the Seraph, yet-"

"Then this will be a good opportunity for you."

"I still don't know if I can control it right-"

"From what I've seen, I think you'll be just fine."

"But, what about my men?"

"Well, why don't you get out of the cockpit, and tell them you're leaving?"

Kahna opened his mouth to protest again, but nothing came out of his mouth. He clamped his mouth shut, considering Crow's words. He could go, Crow was letting him, all he would have to do is tell Ahmed to tell Sadam and the others that he would be gone for a few days. He knew where he had to go, the Lake Victoria base in Africa, all he had to do was take the chance…

"Well?" Crow pressed. "Are you going, or not, Winner?"

"Okay." Kahna shrugged, opening the cockpit to go and give Ahmed his orders.

_-Lake Victoria base, Africa_

The halls were always silent, at this time of night, especially in the medical precinct of the base. Only the patrolling guards were really on any sort of physical duty. After the last attack on the base, they had been far more alert than usual, becoming tense and edgy. They gripped their rifles with sweaty palms.

It hadn't been too difficult for Takeru to take one guard out, and take his uniform, then stash his body where it wouldn't be found. After all, in the men's room, people went out of their way to avoid the toilets with "out of order" signs on their doors. Keeping his hat low, Takeru scanned the multiple halls of empty medical rooms, only a select few had patients, soldiers that had been injured in the explosions set off by Inori. Eventually, he came to one of the more secure sectors, manned more by automatic defenses than guards. Just down the hall was one of the intensive care treatment rooms, manned by two guards, with light coming through glass, sliding doors. Takeru thought it a bit odd, since intensive care units of such high quality were reserved for the higher-ranking officers. He decided to check it out, but he would have to get passed the first two guards, not to mention the cameras and automatic defenses. With a nod to himself, Takeru proceeded down another corridor.

He had taken the time to familiarize himself with blueprints of the Victoria base, before infiltrating it. He knew that many important wires ran through a part of the wall, at the end. He continued on, glancing inside each room as he passed, and gripping his borrowed rifle a bit tighter than he normally would, to give the pretense of an uneasy soldier to the cameras as he passed. He saw the far wall, and a single remaining camera. Secretly sliding a hand into his front pocket, he came out with a pocketknife. Actually, it was the same knife he had found inside Inori's quarters, back at the Maganac Corps base of operations. He flicked open the blade, passing under the camera as he went. Once out of its range of view, he reached up with the blade, and severed the wire connected to it.

Working quickly, he ran up to the wall, running his hands over the surface until he found the place that reverberated with the hum of electricity. Using his superhuman strength, he punched through the wall, pulling out the wires inside. He checked each one, until he found the according wire, then skillfully cut the slender strand. He ran back to the corner, peering around. By cutting that wire, he should've deactivated all the cameras and automatic defenses in this area.

He leaned against the wall, turning his borrowed radio off. He knew that this would cause them to send one of the two closest guards to investigate, allowing him time to prepare. He dropped the rifle beside him, remaining within the shadows. He didn't want any gunshots going off to warn anyone else, so he would have to kill the soldier fast and clean, and without a large struggle. He could already hear the approaching footsteps, and he fell against the wall, letting his cap fall off and roll around the corner. He looked for all the world as if he were an unconscious soldier. He lowered his temperature, slowing his pulse till he seemed dead. He heard the footsteps pick up their pace, he guessed that the soldier must've seen his cap, and repressed a smirk.

One of the soldiers from the intensive care unit came around the corner, reaching out to check his pulse. Takeru reacted too quickly for the other soldier to think, snapping a hand out to grab his wrist, and bringing the soldier close with a violent jerk. His wrapped his arm around the soldier's neck, squeezing tightly, then snapping the soldier's neck in a single clean motion. His body fell limp, and Takeru quickly began to strip down the soldier, replacing his borrowed uniform with the new one, knowing that he'd have to at least have that much the same, to get close to the second soldier.

"What's going on with that camera, Wilkins?" he heard the radio crackle at him. Thinking fast, he took up the radio, pressing down the response switch.

"Well, as far as I can see, it's fine. The light's on, it appears to be working just fine. I'm waving at it right now."

"Copy that, Wilkins." Came the response. "All right, we'll send someone out to the fusebox to check it out, then. Return to your station."

"Copy that." Takeru returned with a smirk, carefully pulling the dead soldier's body to the side, and taking up his hat and weapons. He tipped the cap low, and began walking back to the intensive care unit. He turned the corner, seeing the remaining guard ahead of him.

"Hey, Wilkins." The soldier looked at him with a smile. "Sounds like you're coming down with strepp throat, or something."

"No, I don't have any kinda sickness." Takeru replied with his deep voice, walking up beside the other soldier.

"I should think y'do, with your voice sounding like something growling, it's so deep! But, hey, I'll bet the girls won't mind, will they- huh? Hey, y-you're not Wilk-"

Takeru clamped a hand over the soldier's mouth, his second hand venturing near his neck. With his forefinger and thumb, he pinched one of the major arteries in the man's neck, the pressure point silencing him eternally. The soldier's limp body dropped to the ground with a heavy thud.

"No, I'm not." Takeru said, dragging the soldier inside the intensive care treatment room. After dropping the body away from where it would be seen, Takeru turned to look at the patient inhabiting the room.

His eyes widened, shivering with their surprise. It wasn't Rem, or even Lazarus. There, lying on the table, her eyes open and unblinking, was Inori. She was in some sort of comatose state, but most of her body functions were still working normally. Only her brainwaves seemed to be flat, with a barely perceptible flutter along the monitor. Takeru walked up, hesitating to reach out. He gently stroked a hand along her cheek, looking for something, any kind of reaction. When that didn't work, he slapped her hard across the face. All that did was leave a stinging red welt across her cheek, nothing more. Takeru dropped his hand to his side, balling it into a fist.

"Damn." He said through gritted teeth, keeping his voice low. "Damnit, Inori. Why'd you have go and…"

He let out a sigh, reaching for the pistol behind his back. He took a step away, aiming for her brain.

"Sorry, Inori." He said, "But I promise to look after Kahna and the Azure for you…" Takeru narrowed his eyes, his finger slowly squeezing back on the trigger. He stood for a long moment, looking at her, and the lifeless expression in her once intense, ice blue eyes.

He found himself remembering her, the time they had spent together in southeast China, with David Maxwell. He recalled how she always seemed to be able to goad some sort of reaction out of him, the way she could infuriate him, with that cocky, double-edged smile of hers. Then, she had always helped him, too. He had never known her to be disrespectful, but open, and bluntly honest. She had no misconceptions about the world, or the dangers of their given missions. There had been one time, when she had been reviewing the outcome of her infiltration assignment, verbally recording her pilot's log. He had listened to her, and watched her. He remembered looking at the serious, but gentle expression on her face, and thinking that she was truly an excellent soldier, as well as a kind and gentle woman, when she wasn't enraging him, and drawing out his hidden emotions. He had instantly become enraged with himself, for letting so much slip through his emotional defenses.

He couldn't seem to recall a time with her that she hadn't been able to get some sort of reaction from him. The time she had been so angry at him, and at Kahna, she had bared their souls right before their eyes, showing them just what it was that they were doing. Even then, she had been helping them, somehow. The intensity of her eyes had yet again cut into him, then, reading him like no one else could.

It was her eyes, most of all, that he remembered, and it was truly sad to see her now, with that intensity, that luster, having vanished within the recesses of her mind. He aimed at her, his finger on the trigger. His hand was shaking, he knew he had to kill her, she was a threat to his mission, and now, would only be a liability to everyone. The greatest mercy he could do for her would be to kill her. She was like a body without a soul, an empty shell, he needed to free her from her mortal prison. His hand wouldn't stop shaking, as he squeezed back on the trigger.

Nothing.

Takeru hurled the gun away from himself with an angry shout, not caring whether or not he was heard. He couldn't do it. No matter how long he stood there, or if he closed his eyes, he just couldn't bring himself to kill her.

_I don't understand_, he thought, _Why can't I kill her? She's a vegetable, not even capable of reacting to pain! I should be releasing her, if I shot her! So, why? Why can't I kill her? What in the hell is wrong with me!_

Takeru fell to his knees, feeling mentally exhausted. He took deep breaths, his hands balled into fists at his feet. Slowly, he brought his gaze up, his eyes narrowed, but shivering with some unidentifiable emotion. Slowly, he ceased his panting, and he stood. He approached Inori's limp form, looking down at her expressionless eyes.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." He said. He took off all forms of monitoring from Inori, pulling the IV from her arm. Gently, he scooped up her limp form, putting one of her arms around his neck. He was amazed how light she seemed, knowing her to be a remarkably strong young woman, and exceptionally tall for a girl of Japanese ethnicity. Shaking his head, still not certain of just what it was that he was doing, Takeru carried Inori out of the medical treatment room.

_Just consider this my way of repaying you, Inori, for what you did for me, back in Australia_, Takeru thought, his eyes briefly straying to her blank face.

A camera on the far wall had been monitoring Takeru while he was inside the intensive care unit. He hadn't been worried about, since the wire he had cut had shut off all cameras on this floor, but this camera was the exception. It wasn't connected to any of the other military monitors on the floor, but had wiring from a very different sector. The feedback from the camera came out on a monitor, in the darkened office Sven Lazarus, only, Lazarus was not present in the room. Instead, his chair was inhabited by another, someone tall, and lean, with exceptionally dark, cold eyes. Eyes that had undergone a transformation of sorts, and that held a dark intensity all their own, shrinking to half-their normal size.

Almost casually, the owner of these eyes reached over, and flicked off the monitor. A dark smile played at his lips, as he casually flicked on the silent alarm. Rising from the plush chair, he stiffly walked towards the door.

As if willed to life by some unseen force, the whole of the Victoria base was suddenly on full alert. Soldiers nervously patrolled all areas, gripping their rifles with unease, and jumping at nearly all of the fleeting corner shadows. A patrol unit had already gone to investigate the downed cameras in the medical building, and had discovered the split wires, and the soldier's body. However, Takeru hadn't expected them to check on it so quickly. He was beginning to doubt anyone had even gone out to the fuse box at all.

Takeru had ducked behind a stack of crates in the shuttle-docking bay, Inori's limp form resting on the ground beside him. He hadn't been expecting to take baggage back with him when he left the base, but he had made his decision, and he was determined to go through with it, even if he didn't fully understand why. Still, he now needed to think of a way to get himself and Inori off the base, and get to his Gundam. Already, he had run through over a dozen different scenarios inside his head, and all of them seemed to be the wrong solution.

He glanced at Inori, beside him, as she lay in her mental obstentia, pale and empty, like some abandoned puppet. He couldn't look at her very long, it just wasn't something he could bring himself to do. Nearly pounding a fist into the metal of the wall, Takeru had finally come up short.

Turning his eyes towards the pack beside him, well aware of its contents. He had been hoping to avoid their use, but it appeared that he had run out of options. Reaching out, he snapped up the bag with an agile hand, and swung both the bag, and his appropriated weapon over his shoulder. After gently propping up the comatose Inori, he leapt over the crates, staying low, and beneath the stairs. He'd set the charges in his backpack, then return for Inori. Right now, her limp form would only hinder him.

_If I detonate the charges_, he thought, _around the shuttle bay and Mobile Suit docks, it'll lead them to believe that I intend to escape by another means. Then, not only will that ensure that I won't be pursued by their Virgos, but it'll also allow me to take them by complete surprise when I escape. I just have to be cautious of where I set the charges, around the shuttle bay. I can blow up the exterior, but I have to try and leave at least one of the smaller, faster shuttles undamaged. Otherwise, if all else fails, I can still shoot both Inori and myself._

The most difficult part of his plan would be the precision of his explosions. While it would be tricky to set up the charges without getting seen or caught, it wasn't his greatest concern. Tipping his hat low, Takeru listened behind closed doors for the sounds passing soldiers to fade away. Once they were beyond his hearing, he dropped to one knee beside the exit, reaching behind him, and pulling out one of the plastic explosives he had prepared. Gently setting the small device in the upper corner of the door jam, he casually slipped out of the shuttle bay, a second charge in hand, and ready to be set.

Takeru hid the charges where he could, on the inside or door jams, and on large support beams, where they couldn't be seen, at the very base. While liberal with the charges within the majority of the shuttle bay and Mobile Suit docks, he was more cautious with the use of his charges around the final shuttle bay, which housed a small, high-speed launch shuttle, designed specifically for short, fast take-offs. It would be more than enough to get himself and Inori off the base, and to where the Neo was located. With only a few charges to spare, he placed them within the open cockpits of certain Virgo S units. He didn't worry about the mindless pilots inside, whose blank stares reminded him acutely of Inori, he knew they were unable to react or even comprehend his actions. Once that was completed, he began his trek back to the shuttle bay, where Inori lay in silence.

He waited outside, watching as a group of soldiers entered the shuttle bay with unease. He felt a slight fear that they might discover the charge he had set inside the door jam. However, once all the soldiers were inside, his fear dissipated into urgency as he silently dashed towards the door, and inside the shuttle bay. He found Inori where he had left her, propped up against the crate, her eyes staring blankly into space, and her shallow breathing unchanged. Pulling her light, lissome frame to him, he almost unconsciously brushed her hair out of her face as he shouldered her weight.

With the delicate load of Inori on his shoulder, Takeru was more cautious than he would've been while running through the shuttle bay, to his chosen ship. He tried to avoid jolting her unconscious form, not wanting to worsen her condition beyond what it already was. When he heard approaching soldiers, he ducked under stairs, melting into shadows, and gently lowering to his knees. When they were gone, he slowly rose to his feet, and began his smooth, silent run for the shuttle.

Takeru was forced to climb inside the shuttle via one of the bottom hatches, Inori still on his shoulder. Once he could grab onto the rim of the hatch, he heaved himself up with one arm, and rested Inori on the inside. With the added weight finally off his shoulders, he was able to pull himself up into the shuttle, feet dangling under him. Sliding the hatch opening shut, he took Inori up in both arms, and strapped her into the copilot seat of the shuttle. Falling into the pilot's seat himself, he began to start up the system, flicking switches as he strapped himself into the seat. Already, he could hear the increasing roar of the turbines.

_Time for the last act_, he thought absently, pulling the detonator switch from the pack on the floor beside him, and forcefully pressing the switch down with his thumb. The foundations of the base shook violently, forcing Takeru to grit his teeth and cling to the pilot's seat of the shuttle, forcibly pressing his back into the chair to prevent himself from getting whiplash. He squinted his eyes against the brilliant light of the flames from the hangar door, and slowly reached forward. One hand took the flight stick, the other the throttle. Grinding his teeth against the aftershock vibrations, Takeru tightened his grip on the shuttle's controls…

Soldiers scrambled about the premises, trying to put out the fires caused by the explosions. It was impossible to try and save the Mobile Suits from the blaze, since the very roof of the hangar had collapsed on top of them, the same for the burning shuttle bay, though some hangars still had a stable roof. All those who weren't fighting the fire were on guard and patrol duty, keeping close watch over the undamaged areas with rifles in hand.

With all the commotion about the flames, no one took notice of the rising sound of turbines, until the hangar door from one of the shuttle docks was blown away from the inside. A small, high-speed shuttle flew out for a fast take off, its landing gear skimming the tops of the trees before clearing the canopy in its ascent.

Takeru briefly glanced behind as they took off into the night, making certain there weren't any scrambled attempts at following him so soon. Seeing none, he turned his attention back to his current directive: finding the Neo. He had left it quite a distance from the actual base, knowing that his Gundam would be far too conspicuous in this area. With its location in mind, Takeru programmed the coordinates into the auto pilot system, unbuckling his seatbelt and heading into the rear compartment.

_If I bring Inori inside the Neo with me, I won't be able to pilot it correctly_, he thought. _I'm going to have to leave her here, with the shuttle on autopilot, and parachute down to the Neo. Then I can physically guide the craft with my Gundam._

He stripped himself of the OZ uniform jacket, and dropped the cap down on the floor beside his feet. He stood for a moment, in the uniform pants and loose muscle shirt, holding the jacket in numb hands. A sigh escaped his lips, and he tossed the jacket aside, reaching for the parachute the leaned against the wall of hallway. In a smooth motion, he strapped the parachute onto himself, checking all connections carefully. He glanced ahead, into the cockpit, and out the windshield. It wouldn't be long now.

He took a deep breath, letting the air come out his nostrils, as he leaned against the wall. The back of his head banged against the wall, and Takeru found himself staring up at the bland grayness of the ceiling. The cold metal seemed to reflect a part of him, mirroring his emotions in some strange way. Somehow, it left an unsettling feeling inside of him, and he forcefully turned away, walking back into the cockpit.

The acute sound of the shuttle's proximity warning sounded, drawing Takeru's attention. He hurried forward, jumping into the pilot's seat and taking the controls into his own hands. Reaching across, he flicked the proximity warning controls, bringing the image up on the screen. He fell back, almost minutely, his eyes shrinking in his surprise, then narrowing angrily as he recognized the following Mobile Suit as it crashed through the forest brush: the Omen.

_I was wondering how long it would take him to follow me_, he thought bitterly. His hand went to the throttle, which he slowly began to increase, until the shuttle was maxed out on speed. While the G's slammed him back into his seat, Takeru had the presence of mind to keep himself free of the safety harness, since he knew he'd be unable to unbuckle himself for his jump. His fingernails dug into the seat, and he kept a single hand glued to flight stick. Takeru was waiting, looking, for the Neo's location to finally appear on the screen. The coordinates were still programmed into the auto-piloting system, so the computer should give a warning upon approaching them. His eyes switched between screens, from the plane's location, to the pursuing Gundam, and the hectic, reckless way it pursued them.

That somehow seemed strange to Takeru. When he had first met Rem, he hadn't struck Takeru as the hectic type. While Rem could indeed be reckless to the point of being dangerous, but the way the Omen was following them now… Rem was being careless, he made no attempt to bring his Gundam above the forest canopy, and he wasn't firing any of his weapons, not the mounted vulcans, not the chain beam cannon, nothing. He was charging at them like a blind and enraged animal. It didn't make any sense…

The shuttle's computer beeped sharply, alerting Takeru to their arrival at the Neo's location. He didn't have any time left to ponder Rem's behavior. Quickly resetting the autopilot, he pulled himself out of the pilot's seat, gritting his teeth against the pull of the G's as he walked back. He arrived at the door, and pulled it open with all his strength. The cold air came in fast, almost pulling him out with the change of pressure. Only by keeping his hands locked to the sides in an iron grip was he able to prevent himself from being sucked out. Once the pressure in the cabin had settled, he jerked his head to the right, judging how far Rem was from the shuttle, ad how long it would take him to catch up. Turning his eyes to the left, he saw the Neo, covered in a camouflage net, and approaching quickly. With a final glance inside, he heaved off the shuttle's side, and down towards the earth.

He had to narrow his eyes against the biting wind, but he plastered his arms to his sides, keeping his legs straight, and tightly pinned together. This allowed him to fall at a faster rate, though it could be considered dangerous. His descent continued, well past the point of parachute release, and further still. He was perhaps a few hundred feet off the ground, but he still didn't feel that he was close enough. The neo was directly below him, the cockpit closed, the net covering the Gundam. Now, just under one hundred feet off the ground, he released his parachute, the chute snapping him backwards, and upwards. He was too close to land safely, but the chute greatly slowed his momentum, just as he had planned. Working fast, he unbuckled the parachute, and continued his drop, landing on the Neo's chest. He let his knees buckle under him, rolling forward to reduce the force of the impact. When he came back up on his feet, he was just near the Neo's cockpit.

Not giving himself time to think, he grasped at the camouflage net at his feet, and began to pull with all his strength. The net smoothly slid off of the Gundam, and once he had it past the cockpit, he dropped it at his feet, and ran forward.

"Voice confirmation, Takeru Yuy." He mumbled aloud, the Gundam reacting to his voice, and the cockpit door opening with a steely hiss. He heard the approaching turbines of Rem's Gundam Omen, and glanced back in the direction he had just fallen from. The Omen was practically upon the small shuttle, but was slowing down. The giant barrel of the Omen's chain beam cannon came to bear, folding off over the shoulder, and locked into its firing position.

"_Shit!_" Takeru literally fell into the cockpit, closing the cockpit door without bothering to put on the safety harness. Steam hissing from the Neo's vents, the great Gundam sat up, twin buster rifle in hand. One leg bent at the knee so the foot could support the Gundam's great weight. The screens came to life, and Takeru could see the red glow as the Omen's chain cannon prepared to fire. He dropped the buster rifle, and used the free hand to push the Gundam off the ground, into a standing position. With no time left to spare, Takeru hurled the Neo's shield in the shuttle's direction, just as the Omen opened fire upon it. The shield intercepted the blast, saving the shuttle, at least temporarily.

Takeru quickly retrieved both the buster rifle and shield. With both items back in his possession, the Neo whirled about to face the oncoming Omen. The crimson Gundam came crashing forward, the barrel of its chain cannon folding back over its shoulder. Takeru reversed the Neo's thrust, both wings pushing him away from Rem's charge. He only just noticed the Omen, and was barely able to save the shuttle from a barrage of vulcan bullets.

_Damn! Looks like I'm gonna have to play guard duty!_ He thought angrily, and maneuvered the Neo to behind the shuttle, keeping the shield up in defense, and his thrusters in reverse.

As he backed away from the paused Omen, he heard a strange cackling over the communications link, a wild laughter that rang somewhat familiar in his ears. He didn't know what to make of it, as it fell into a quieter tone, more like a low chuckle, it was strange, like a man lost in madness…

"Defending the shuttle, are you? You play well the part of the gallant knight!" A voice hissed into his com-link, and it once again fell into mad laughter. That voice!

"Rem!" he spat the man's name, tightening his grip on the controls. Rem sounded so strange to him, though.

Rem's mad, sadistic laughter came back to haunt his ears. "Oh, how noble of you! Defending your fallen comrade in her soulless sleep, hmph! Pathetic! And here I thought you were the stable type."

"What? What the hell are talking about, damn it!" Takeru threw his shield up in defense as the Omen fired another blast from its chain cannon, the force pushing the Neo dangerously close to the shuttle. The Omen had resumed pursuing them, and came in straight and fast.

"Why didn't you shoot her, Takeru? Hmmm?" Rem teased menacingly, "She's an obstacle to your missions, now! Why didn't you pull the trigger? She could offer no resistance, a beautiful maiden, in her gown, laying in wait for her soul to return. Ha! An empty shell, that's what she is! Why protect her, when you should be killing her?"

Takeru froze for a moment in the cockpit. Rem had seen? In the hospital, when he had been unable to shoot Inori, Rem had seen that. He narrowed his eyes, growling in anger at the sadistic Omen pilot.

"Unable to take the leap? You know I'm right" Rem paused, chuckling darkly, which escalated into high pitched, sadistic laughter, fast and cruel. Takeru started, and for a moment the world seemed to slow down. Everything went by in slow motion, and his eyes widened in realization.

_He's gone mad_, he thought in shock, _Rem…he's completely and utterly insane!_

"Ha! You've condemned yourself, Takeru! Even if you manage to escape with both your life and hers, what makes you think she'll ever wake up? Or if she does, what do you think will happen?" Rem's words brought Takeru out of his trance. When he looked at the screens, he saw that Rem was charging towards him at the Omen's highest speed, and was too close to avoid! "Do you hold some hope that things will be as they once were? Or do you have some other illusion in mind? Pathetic, really, if you think you can have any semblance of that kind of life. You are a soldier, Takeru, a Gundam pilot! You've already sealed your fate in battle!"

The Omen crashed in heavily, forcing the Neo backwards and putting them dangerously close to hitting the shuttle. In a last moment reaction, without thinking, Takeru killed his right wing thruster, forcing both Gundams to fly towards the right, and away from the shuttle. Both the Neo and the Omen crashed heavily to the ground, toppling trees in their wake. Takeru gritted his teeth, and steeled his spine against the impact, knowing the turbulence would give him critical whiplash. The Neo was already in semi-battered shape, since he hadn't stayed long enough with Kahna and the Maganac Corps to finish its repairs. The tumble with Rem was only making things worse for Takeru.

As they came to a crashing halt, Takeru pulled back on the controls. Something was preventing the right side from moving, there was some kind of weight forcing him to the ground. The screens flickered back on, having temporarily powered down during the crash. With his sight back, Takeru could see the Omen, pinning his suit to the ground by kneeling on the right arm and upper torso. The Omen's right foot was close to the cockpit, and prevented him from opening the door. He struggled with the controls, trying to hurl the Omen off of his Gundam, but Rem had him pinned down too well.

"Hmph," Rem's voice almost sounded disappointed, "And here I thought you'd at least manage to pull away from me. Oh well, say good-bye to shuttle, then-"

The barrel of the Omen's chain cannon came over the shoulder, locking into place. Almost casually, Rem aimed in the shuttle's direction. The telltale sign of glowing energy particles gathering around the end of the chain cannon's barrel. Takeru struggled with the controls of the Neo, knowing that he had to stop Rem.

_I took the responsibility of protecting her on myself_, he thought fiercely, _if I let her die now, I'll be betraying that responsibility, and betraying her…!_

"No! Rem!" he shouted, almost without thinking, his MS struggling beneath the Omen. Since he was unable to reach the beam saber on his right shoulder, or his twin buster rifle, he instead opted for the second beam saber stored in a socket hidden in the left shoulder. Practically beating the switch to release the beam saber, he raised the Gundam's left arm, grasping the energy blade by its hilt.

"Ha! Too little, too _late_!" Rem's crazed and mocking voice rasped at him over the communications frequency, releasing his chain cannon's energy upon the shuttle.

"Inori, no!" Takeru found himself shouting out to her, even though there was no possible way she'd hear him. He felt… helpless, truly powerless. Inori was going to die, even after he had been unable to kill her himself, and had taken her limp, comatose form with him. After all that, she was going to die, and there wasn't a single thing he could do to protect her.

_Takeru… why did you become a Gundam pilot?_

_Hmm? What do you mean, Inori?_ All at once, he found himself, back in China, in that hangar where he'd first met Inori, and David Maxwell, after so much had transpired between them. He was recalling an odd moment, an odd conversation, they had once had. Takeru was inside the Neo's cockpit, with the door open, as he ran a detailed systems check. Inori stood just outside, watching over the blue print readout, and leaning against the rail of the catwalk.

_I asked, "Why did you become a Gundam pilot?"._

_What does that have to do with anything?_

_Nothing. I'm just curious, is all._

_Hmm…_ He turned back into the cockpit, feeling the grip of the controls. _No real reason, I guess. My job was boring, or maybe it was a way of knowing my great-grandfather._

_Really?_

_I don't have a reason for becoming what I did, and I don't need one, Inori. Why did you ask me, anyway?_

_Hmph, 'scuse me for making conversation._ Inori stuck her tongue out at him, then turned back to the readouts. _Well, you may not have a reason, but I do._

Takeru looked up, curious in what she was getting at.

_I have people that I want to protect, back in space. My father, the members of my Elite Defense Unit, people I met in school, and in training. Even people in the colonies. I agreed to Crow's offer, so I could protect them. That's my reason._ Inori looked back at him, and she smiled genuinely at him. _You may think it's foolish and distracting for me to think that way, but the truth is, I don't believe someone can call theirself a soldier, unless they have something to protect. Even us, whether you realize it or not, you're fighting to protect the peace we've known for the past century._

Inori looked at him a moment longer, then smiled helplessly, and shook her head, turning back to the readouts. _I guess you really haven't found what it is you're protecting, have you? Well, I guess you will, eventually, Takeru…_

"Inori…" he was shaking, and he didn't know why. The brief flash back had ended, and it had left him paralyzed. Somehow, the blast hadn't reached the shuttle yet, but rather seemed to be going in slow motion towards it. _Why did I want to protect you, Inori? I don't know, I just don't know… I'm sorry…_

The brilliance of the explosion came all too soon, in Takeru's eyes. He lowered his gaze for a brief moment, apologizing to the Azure's pilot in silence. His gaze then snapped up at the Omen, his teeth grinding together. The Neo's arm reached up towards the beam saber once more, and Takeru heaved with all his available strength, and the Omen tumbled off his Gundam. He quickly brought the Neo to its feet, expecting Rem to quickly regain his footing as well. Both of the Omen's plasma sabers were active, Takeru knew he'd need more than his shield, plasma sabers had a better edge than beam sabers. The Neo's right shoulder opened up to reveal a second beam saber, and Takeru urged the Neo back a cautious step as he drew the second beam weapon, dropping the shield to properly wield both weapons. It was a face off between the two Gundams, an unbearably long moment of staring at one another. Takeru in his resolve, and Rem in his insanity. The intensity between them was almost impossible to break. Yet, somehow, the sound of turbines distantly came through to both of them.

Takeru paused, almost afraid, but slowly, he turned the Neo about. The Neo turned to face the fading light of the explosion, and somewhere within the vanishing brilliance, he caught a spot of darkness. Small, and shuttle shaped, and continuing on at high speeds. The screen zoomed in on the small shadow, bringing it into clarity. It was indeed a shuttle, somehow, Rem's attack had missed Inori. He didn't know how, but at that moment, with a miniscule yet genuine smile playing at the edges of his mouth, Takeru didn't care.

"Takeru!" a familiar voice crackled over the radio, earnest, and yet breathing hard with effort. "Takeru, can you hear me?"

"What- Kahna?" he returned, being both shocked and relieved at the same time. He used the Neo to scan the area, looking for Kahna's familiar Sandrock II. He picked up a large shadow, hovering in the sky, and while familiar, it was not the Sandrock II. Great, bat-like wings were spread rampant, and an eerie, yellowish glow came from the beam cannon that served as its left arm. Descending like a stone from heaven, the Gundam Seraph swept across the battlefield, crashing headlong into the Omen, and driving it backwards. Reversing its thrusters in mid-flight, the Seraph slowed its attack, letting the Omen continue in its fall, while coming to a stop.

"Takeru, we have to leave, now!" Kahna rasped. It was clear that he was struggling with the Gundam's piloting system.

"You go on ahead, and get that shuttle out of here, safely." Takeru said briskly, "I'll stay behind, and cover your retreat-"

"No, now!" Kahna shouted, the boldness in his tone surprising Takeru somewhat. He could hear Kahna's heavy breathing, and could imagine the sweat dampening his skin. In an actual battle, the Sub-ZERO system was more intense than in simulation. While technically it should've been easy to handle, making the Mobile Suit itself seem more like an extension of the pilot's will, it put a great strain on the pilot's emotions and mental stability. It made everything seem surreal, like in some kind of dream, and that could be dangerous, if the pilot let his emotions get in the way. Kahna was struggling to control his emotions, Takeru knew, struggling to keep a hold of himself, and not loose himself in the system.

"I-I don't n-know how long I-can control… myself in-in a real battle! Takeru!" Kahna rasped, his shirt practically clinging to his skin, he was so damp with sweat. "We- we have to get out of here, regroup-ergh!"

From the corner of his eye, Kahna saw the Omen rising to its feet, preparing to charge again. The Seraph's beam cannon snapped to attention, coming to bear in Rem's general direction. Even as he fired the powerful beam cannon, feeling himself shiver in anxiety, he knew that Rem and the Omen had survived, but at least for now, the powerful Gundam was stunned.

"Rrgh! Takeru! We are leaving!" Willing the Seraph about, the Gundam's protective wings spread wide, and the thrusters kicked in, sending the Gundam rocketing into the sky. Takeru was almost reluctant to follow, looking back at the Omen as it struggled to overcome its shock from the Seraph's blast.

_No. Inori needs me, right now, but I'll return to kill Rem._ Takeru thought with resolve, initiating the Neo's transformation into a fighter. _I'll protect her, for now, until she recovers. I can repay my debt to her, that way._

With two Gundams as escort, the small shuttle continued on, into the night. Leaving the Rem and the Omen behind, his mad laughter grating on their ears. They guided the small plane away, until all there was, was silence.

Inside the Omen, Rem had stopped struggling with the controls. Instead, he lay back, his hands resting on the controls, and a thin smile playing on his lips. To him, it was all so very amusing now. Takeru had condemned himself, when he had rescued Inori. Now, he would go out of his way to protect her, even though she was nothing more than a shell.

"Ho, emotions are so amusing." He sighed, almost laughing. "Takeru, you're hopeless. Even if she does wake up, what do you think will happen? You are a Gundam pilot, a soldier. And, you cannot hide from that… Takeru Yuy."

His shoulders shook with his laughter, and Rem threw his head back, embracing his insanity. His eyes were wild, bloodshot, his pupils shrunken. His laughter was high-pitched, and his mouth was spread into a wide grin.

The smile of a madman.

Kahna and Takeru's return to the Maganac Corps current base could not be considered with any joy. Kahna had mentally exhausted himself, trying to control the system, and barely had enough wits about him to climb out of the Seraph's cockpit before he collapsed into sleep, being caught be Ahmed's strong, supporting arms.

"He's worn himself out completely..." Sadam commented, as both he and Takeru watched Ahmed carry the young Winner heir to his rooms for some much-needed rest. "Still, I don't see how he could have exhausted himself so much, just by piloting the thing."

"It's the Sub-ZERO system." Takeru returned dryly. "It takes a lot more to control than you'd think, especially in a real battle. To be honest, it's far different than any simulated battle. It's not surprising that he passed out, but at least he didn't loose control.

Sadam turned to regard the young man beside him, raising an eyebrow in curiosity and concern. "What about you? Or Inori? How is it that you can handle the system so well?"

Takeru paused, glancing in Sadam's direction before turning around and heading back towards the open cockpit of the Neo. "It's a small matter for me to handle the system, after how I was trained at the lunar base for the last two years. On top of that, my added abilities make it easier for me. Even so, there's still the added risk that everyone runs while using the system."

Once at the cockpit, Takeru stepped onto the platform, reaching inside, and pulling a duffel bag free from where he had jammed it, under the pilot's seat. "For someone like Inori, however, it's a totally different matter. She was born and raised on the lunar base, the place of the system's origin. She must've grown up using the system, so she's adapted to it. She knows how to separate her emotions from her conscience. For her, it's as natural as breathing."

Unzipping the duffel bag, he pulled a T-shirt free from its depths. He pulled off the remaining shirt from his borrowed OZ uniform, then brought the T-shirt over his head and shoulders, tossing the OZ shirt aside.

"Speaking of Inori," he added thoughtfully, "Has she been transferred to the medical facilities?"

Sadam nodded. "Yes, the doctors have her in intensive care. They're utterly baffled as to her condition, however."

"She's catatonic, even I could tell you that." Takeru remarked dryly.

"Yes, but they don't know why." Sadam sighed in frustration, and leaned across the rail of the catwalk. "Inori's a psionic, a powerful one. The only people familiar with the kind of medical treatment she needs are on the lunar base. The most our doctors can do is keep her hooked up to life support, and treat the bullet wound they found in her left shoulder."

This tweaked Takeru's curiosity, and made him look up in Sadam's direction. "Bullet wound? You mean she was shot?"

"That's right." Sadam nodded with a sigh, then looked helplessly at Takeru. "Look, some of our scouts said they have some information for me, so I'd better go and hear what they have to say. I'll have Ahmed keep you informed on Inori's condition, and anything else we learn, all right?'

With his last comment said, Sadam walked away, along the catwalks. Takeru watched his departure a moment longer, then turned his attention to the inside of his cockpit. He was still mostly clad in an OZ uniform, with the exception of the T-shirt, and probably should've gone back to his quarters to change and rest, but he needed to think in silence, right now. Shoving his duffel bag back under the pilot's seat, he crawled inside the cockpit. The door sealed behind him with a steely hiss, as it always did, and he flopped into the pilot's seat. Clasping his hands behind his head, Takeru leaned back, crossing his legs for a little added comfort. He had never minded the cramped space of the cockpit, had even learned to be comfortable within it. To him, within the small, soundproofed place was the best place to think.

_What do I do now?_ He thought absently, _What can I do? Until I learn more about what's going on outside, I won't be able to effectively fight OZ. And what about Lazarus? There wasn't a single word about him at Victoria. I don't understand… I guess I'll have to wait until I can get some more information._

Closing his eyes, Takeru leaned back into the chair, letting his mind drift in the silence of the cockpit. Somewhere in the back of his mind, as he wearily drifted into sleep, he heard the disturbing echo of Rem's maddening laughter…

_Takeru… Takeru…_

A voice was tugging at the edges of his thoughts, bringing him back from his restless sleep. It was familiar, somehow, and gentle.

_Takeru… wake up._

Moaning in his sleep, he turned away from the sound. He didn't understand, who was it? It was a soft voice, feminine… _Inori?_

"Hey, Yuy! Wake up, this is a cockpit, not a motel room!"

His eyes snapped open, and Takeru all at once found himself staring into the beady eyes of Doctor Crow. While he had been asleep, Crow must've opened up a communications channel with his Gundam. Takeru raised an eyebrow at himself, how in the hell could he have possibly thought that Crow's voice sounded like Inori's?

"Hmph, well, now that you're awake, did you have a nice nap?" Crow drolled sarcastically. Takeru leaned to one side, propping his left elbow up on the console, and dropping his chin into his open palm. He assumed a dry expression, and glared back at Crow without much enthusiasm.

"What in the hell do you want, old man?" he snapped irritably, "Unless its another mission, or some other legitimate reason, you better hurry up, before I terminate this uplink."

"Humph, well I can see that _you're_ not a morning person." Crow remarked. "Well, I guess I'll get straight to the point. Tell me what happened at Victoria."

Takeru closed his eyes, turning his attention away from Crow before answering. "I failed, Rem isn't only alive, but he's also completely insane."

"Insane? Well, that just makes for a wonderful twist, doesn't it." Crow sighed in disgust, "And Lazarus, what of him?"

"There wasn't any sign of Sven Lazarus, It's most likely that he's returned to outer space."

"All right. What about Inori?"

Takeru paused before answering, slowly opening his eyes, but not bothering to look in Crow's direction. "I found Inori in the Lake Victoria base's intensive care unit, she was completely catatonic."

Crow fell silent, drawing Takeru's attention. He had dropped his head in thought, and looked rather deflated.

"Catatonic, eh? She must've tried using her telepathy on someone, and lost control of them. Too bad for Tetsuo. I'll have to tell the poor man that his daughter's dead."

_Tetsuo? Must be Inori's father_, Takeru thought, then brushed it aside.

"I didn't kill her." Takeru said in a flat tone, watching Crow to carefully judge his reaction.

"What?" Crow turned back to Takeru in complete surprise. "You can't be serious." Takeru raised an eyebrow at Crow, who shook his head. "Right, sorry, forgot who I was talking to for a moment there, Takeru. Well, if you didn't kill her, then what happened?"

"I took her with me, she's now being treated in the medical facilities provided by this base. The Maganac Corps is looking after her."

"Really…?" Crow sighed in what Takeru took as relief, when he nodded. Then he looked up in genuine curiosity. "But, why didn't you kill her? I mean, she is an obstacle to your missions, now. You can't take her with you everywhere while she's catatonic."

"Idiot, I'm not going to take her with me." Takeru growled in frustration. "I'll leave her with Kahna. He and his men can watch after her. As for why I didn't kill her…"

Takeru paused, why hadn't he killed Inori? Perhaps, he was simply unable to kill someone, while they were so helpless. Maybe it was to repay her for saving him, in Australia, like he had said. In all honesty, he didn't really know, but when he thought of the once-vibrant young woman, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of sorrow. Inori had been able to draw out a reaction from him like no one ever had, and despite how much she had annoyed and angered him, he had enjoyed her company. She was his comrade, the only one he'd ever known, and he didn't want the intensity in her icy blue eyes to ever diminish.

"I don't know." He finally answered, "I guess it was to repay her for what she did for me in Australia."

"Hmm…" Crow raised an eyebrow, as if he were evaluating Takeru. After a long pause, he finally shrugged helplessly, unable to get passed the young man's mask. "All right, then. Well, I have some new information for you, so pay attention."

The Neo's screen flashed, and changed to a map of the earth sphere. Crow's image appeared in a small box, in the upper left-hand corner. "From the observations we've made here at the lunar base, we've come across something interesting." Several arrows appeared in numerous places across the rotating, global map, all pointing away, into outer space. "It appears that the majority of OZ's forces are leaving earth. We think they're being called back to do battle with the Resistance, out here in space."

"Resistance?" Takeru arced a brow.

"Oh, come on now, boy!" Crow balked impatiently. "Don't tell me you haven't heard of the Colonial Resistance!"

Takeru said nothing, only leaned back in the pilot's seat. He had heard rumors indicating that a small surviving group of Mobile Suit engineers and laborers had formed a rough battle fleet in outer space. Apparently, it was mostly composed of engineers, labor Mobile Suits, and soldiers from the lunar base assistance forces that had survived the initial battles at the space colonies.

"Well, it turns out that this resistance group is being headed by a skilled young man of the Peacecraft lineage, who has not only gathered a substantial force, but has been proving to be quite a problem to OZ. They can't seem to trace the group, or predict their moves." Crow waved it away, "But that's not important. All it does is provide you with a means to finally reclaim the earth! But, you'll have to work quickly. I'm sending you a list of where and when you should strike, and I suggest you ask Kahna for the Maganac Corps assistance in this matter. We have to strike quickly, so study it carefully."

The readouts appeared on the screen, and Takeru skimmed his eyes over them. "Roger that, but what about Inori?"

Crow shrugged. "All I can tell you to do is wait. If she's going to come around, it'll be in her own time. That's all for now, make certain to study those readouts, Takeru. Over and out." The screen went dark as the communications link terminated, leaving Takeru to study Crow's provided information in silence. He read it over carefully, saving the data to disk so he could later show it to Kahna. Once he had committed the information to memory, he sat in the silence of the cockpit, letting everything that had just transpired sink into his head.

"The military space ports in the Mediterranean, those are the first targets…" Slowly, Takeru raised his eyes to the darkness.

"…Mission: Accepted."

"So, Crow ordered you to ask for our assistance?" Kahna looked up at Takeru from where he stood. Being so many inches shorter than Takeru made it hard to look at him without straining his neck. After all, Takeru was nearly half a foot taller than he was.

"Consider it a way to repay him for letting you use the Seraph." Takeru said flatly. "But the point remains: If we're ever going to reclaim the earth, now is perhaps the only chance we're ever going to have, without making this a long war."

"I see your point." Kahna nodded in agreement. "All right, I'll broach the subject with my men, and we'll divide the targets up between regiments. If we're going to do this, Takeru, I'd like to continue using the Seraph. This way, I can eventually go into battle without any of my own men, and won't have to worry about other's dying for me."

Takeru merely nodded, and began to head for the door. Kahna watched after him for a moment, before calling after him.

"Where are you going? Takeru?"

"To see how Inori's doing.", was his reply. Kahna quickly gave his orders to Sadam, and sprinted after the departing Gundam pilot.

"Hold up! I'll come with you!"

Both young men walked through the corridors of the old base. Kahna, still unfamiliar with the hallways, relied on Takeru's guidance to find the medical facilities. Not so much as a polite cough passed between them, since Takeru had no wish to speak, and Kahna was still somewhat uncomfortable in the much more imposing presence of Takeru. It was a long, silent walk to the medical bay, but they eventually arrived.

"Master Kahna." The doctor greeted, "I presume you're here to check up on the patient. Go right ahead."

"Thank you, doctor." Kahna returned, then jogged ahead to catch up with Takeru, who had walked by without a word. Both of them knew the location of Inori's room, so it was without so much as a second thought that they entered. Only when they were inside the room did they slow their pace.

Takeru paused at the door, looking at the young woman in her near-lifeless state. For a brief moment, his eyes shivered at the sight of her, then he continued on, walking around the bed to her right side. Kahna stayed a moment longer, reflecting upon a fantasy of Inori suddenly sitting up, and yawning casually. He shook his head, his eyes shivering with emotion as he walked to her side.

"…Hi, Inori…" Kahna murmured softly, as he took the young woman's hand in his own. The doctors had closed her eyes, so she didn't appear to be staring at the ceiling in a helpless daze. They had been unable to do anything about her flat brain waves, however. Kahna stared at her forlornly, wishing for the vibrant young woman who had been his friend to return to him.

From across the bed, Takeru looked on as Kahna proceeded to tell the catatonic girl about all that had transpired, as if she were listening to his every word. He took the seat beside the bed, folding his arms across his chest, and closing his eyes. He held no delusions of Inori being able to hear them, and yet, he still came to see her, on a regular basis. Perhaps Kahna's words were reaching her, and perhaps she could feel them at her side, but no. Takeru knew that only Inori could bring herself back.

"Takeru…"

Kahna's voice intruded upon his thoughts. He looked up at the young Winner heir, raising an eyebrow to show his curiosity in his otherwise expressionless eyes.

"Do you think… she'll ever wake up?" Kahna's voice was somewhat choked. Takeru knew how dearly the young man loved her, after how she had befriended him. He turned his eyes to Inori's face, looking for a long moment before answering.

"I don't know, Kahna." He said bluntly, "All we can do is hope that something reaches her."

For a while longer, both sat in silence at Inori's side. Kahna gently held her hand, blinking back any tears as they came to his eyes. Takeru remained silent and motionless, his arms folded across his chest, his eyes closed.

"Master Kahna, Takeru Yuy?"

The sound of Ahmed's deep voice made both of them look up. The tall, burly Arabian stood in the doorway, one arm folded across his waist in a slight bow.

"Sadam requests your presence in the board room. He would like to review his plans with you."

"All right." Kahna nodded, rising from his seat. He paused to look at the young woman beside him. "Bye, Inori. I'll be back, later on." He murmured, brushing aside a tear with a feint smile.

"C'mon. We better hear what Sadam has planned." Takeru urged, walking around the bed, and gently moving Kahna away from Inori. As both young men followed Ahmed out of the room, Takeru paused at the door, looking back for a long moment. Finally, he turned around, walking to Inori's side, and leaned close. With one hand, he brushed the stray locks of her raven-colored hair out of her face, his fingertips resting briefly on the side of her face. With a small sigh, Takeru left the room, not looking back a second time.

"The Maganac troops have been divided into ten small regiments," Sadam announced more than spoke. Kahna and Takeru were seated at the table provided, and Ahmed stood behind his young master with his arms folded across his chest. "Each consisting of five Maganac or Oliphant suits, and a Leo. Since we have thirteen Leo suits, we have three left over, which will go with you, master Kahna. They have been specially equipped with beam cannons that we've recovered from the Virgo S units we've defeated. Ahmed will also be accompanying you, in his Maganac."

"Very good." Kahna nodded approvingly at Sadam. "Now, what about the soldier's families? I want to make certain that they are safe first, before we do anything."

Sadam smiled at his young master, touched by his concern. "There is no need to worry, young master. The men's families will be remaining here, guarded by one of the regiments. The OZ carriers we found here are under repair, as we speak, and are being loaded with emergency supplies. If any danger should come this way, they'll be ready to immediately board the carriers, and escape."

Kahna sighed in relief, closing his eyes, and smiling to himself. He didn't want any innocents suffering on account of him.

"Each have been assigned their targets according to the information you provided us with, Takeru." Sadam continued, "Of the remaining targets, there is a military space port located in Iran, a Mobile Suit transport facility in the southwest corner of Arabia, and a space communications tower in Kuwait. These must be divided up between yourselves, master Kahna."

"All right, then." Kahna nodded, and turned his gaze to Takeru. "So, what do you think?"

Takeru's eyes glanced over in Kahna's direction, he was silent as he thought. "You take the MS transport facility in Arabia." He said with finality, "I'll take the space communications tower and OZ space port."

"Are you sure?" Kahna ventured to ask, "I mean, without any help? Even with the Neo fully repaired and modified, two targets in a limited timeframe is still a lot. Not only that, but both will be heavily guarded, without question."

"That's only if they receive any emergency transmissions, before I get there." Takeru added in a tone of simple certainty, "Which, even if they do, they won't have time to react to. I'll have destroyed the entire base, by then."

"Well, you certainly seem confident enough."

"I'll be fine, Kahna. I can handle it." Takeru rose from his seat, and began heading towards the door. "I am a Gundam pilot, after all."

He paused at the door, looking back at the young Winner heir. "I'm going to go make certain that all modifications to the Neo are complete. You'd better do the same, and check up on the Seraph. If you are going to be its pilot from now on, then you'll have to be able to maintain it."

"Uh, right." Kahna rose from his chair to follow after Takeru, but paused for a moment. "Sadam, I want you to tell all the men to finish up making final adjustments to their Mobile Suits, then go and spend some time with their families. We'll be leaving at 08:00 tomorrow, for our target destinations."

Sadam nodded his agreement, and Kahna took off at a sprint in pursuit of Takeru, who had already left the room. The burly Ahmed bowed to Sadam, then slowly walked off after Kahna, intent on keeping his eye on the young Winner heir. Kahna was slightly short of breath by the time he finally caught up with Takeru. Slowing his pace to match the taller man's stride, Kahna looked up curiously into Takeru's face, almost expecting to see him caught up in deep thought. To his disappointment, he saw no expression on the young man's face at all. Takeru was as unreadable as a stone wall, he didn't even glance in Kahna's direction to acknowledge his presence or existence. Sighing helplessly to himself, Kahna clasped his hands behind his head, and stared at the ceiling as they walked along.

Down in his heart, Kahna had been feeling quite useless after he and Takeru had returned here to the base. He had been unable to do anything about Inori, and had no idea as to what they should do for their next moves. When Takeru had given him the information provided by doctor Crow, he had felt worse, thinking that he should've been looking into the matters on earth himself, instead of sitting by Inori's side in vain hopes that she might awaken. Even so, their next course of action was now set out before them, and for him, there couldn't be any more sitting back. He would have to once again pilot the Seraph into battle.

The thought of flying the Gundam a second time made the young Winner heir shudder. It had been painful, even torturous for him, the last time. In all honesty, he wasn't certain if he could handle it a second time, not without further training in the simulator. He remembered how it felt, how he had barely been able to hold onto his clarity of thought. He had let his concern for both Takeru and Inori show, and the Sub-ZERO system had reflected those emotions back onto him, had intensified them to a point where they were nearly all-consuming. He had just barely been able to control himself by focusing on his objective single-mindedly. He wondered, would it be easy the second time?

"Try not to worry too much about piloting the Seraph."

Takeru's voice drew Kahna out of deep thoughts. He turned his face to the taller Takeru in curiosity and surprise.

"If you think about it so much, you may not be able to perform when the time comes." Takeru continued absently, not bothering to look in Kahna's direction. "You have to learn how to separate your emotions from your thoughts. That's the only way you'll ever be able to truly control the system."

Kahna watched Takeru for a moment longer, curious as to whether he would say anything further. When he didn't respond, Kahna sighed helplessly, and stared at his feet. "But, why is it that the Sub-ZERO system is so hard to control, anyway? I mean, why would people create something that could be so dangerous?"

"Why did Doctor J. and the other five scientists who created the original five Gundams make the ZERO system?" Takeru countered, "Was it for the sake of mankind? Or was it just scientific curiosity? I don't pretend to know the answers to those questions, Kahna.

"I don't hold any delusions about the world we live in, I don't try to forget the brutality and atrocities I've seen. However, I was given a means by which to fight those horrors. I have seen the strength of the enemies we're fighting, and know that, on my own, I am not strong enough to fight them. The Neo Wing Gundam ZERO, and Sub-ZERO system, both provide me with the strength I need in order to fight. So I will use them, despite their possible dangers"

Takeru's words struck at Kahna, and stuck in his thoughts. "A means by which to fight…" he reiterated softly, repeating the part that had seemed most significant to him.

_Takeru's right,_ he thought suddenly. _The Seraph, the Sub-ZERO system, while they may be dangerous to use, they weren't built with any intention other than fighting. But what it is they fight against is determined by the will of the pilot. The Sandrock II, the Gundam my father had built, wasn't built to fight anything. It was meant to be a symbol, and serve the people as a reminder of what we once had to go through to achieve the peace we'd known for the last century._

For some reason, these thoughts seemed to have a profound effect on Kahna, as if striking him with some new enlightenment. _Even as I fought in the Sandrock, and though it served me so well, it always seemed more like I living some moment in the past. I felt as if it were bringing me closer my great-grandfather, Quatre, almost as if I really **were** Quatre. In a way, it was not me fighting, but my great-grandfather's spirit. The pain, the sorrow, they were all his as much as they were mine._

_I began to loose my will to fight, I was as tired of all the battle as he had been, at the end of that war. But, in the Seraph, I knew that I **had** to fight, so I could protect the people I cared about. The Seraph… it is my means by which to fight. It's here, so I can continue to protect those people. But, the Sandrock, it is a memory, a sad reminder, no matter how faithfully it's served me…_

Kahna's thoughts kept him quiet for the remainder of the walk to the Mobile Suit docks. He left Takeru at the Neo, and continued on past the Azure to stand between both the Sandrock II and the Seraph. It was a difficult decision to make, to take up the Seraph, and forever abandon the Sandrock II.

_Am I right in this?_ Kahna wondered at his own thoughts, _Can what I'm about to do be the right thing? Once I do this, there will never be any turning back, the decision I make…I'm almost certain that it will affect everything I do in the future, but… will it be the right choice?…_

"Master Kahna?"

From where he leaned against the rail of the catwalk, staring at the two Gundams, Kahna turned to regard Ahmed as he approached.

"Is something troubling you, young master?" Ahmed asked tentatively, concerned for the young man, as he had always been. Kahna sighed, turning his eyes to the ground that was so far below them.

"I'm about to make a decision that, I think… No, that I _know_ will affect everything I do in the future." He confessed, almost sadly. "I know that I have to keep fighting. I have to fight, so that I can protect the people I care about. But, to do that, I'm going to have to leave an old friend behind me. A friend who has protected and served me faithfully, and in a way, is a part of me. It's a part my family, my heritage, and, to be honest, I'm afraid of leaving it behind…"

Kahna stared on in silence, a sad smile curling the edges of his lips upward. At a loss for words, Ahmed gazed thoughtfully at the young man, wanting to say something, anything, to comfort and reassure him that everything would be all right.

"Young master, I cannot say that I understand your feelings, because in truth, I do not." Ahmed murmured softly, coming to stand by the young man's side. "The only thing I can tell you, is that while something may be the right thing, it does not mean that it is an easy thing to do."

Kahna looked up at the older man beside him, waiting for him to continue. Ahmed smiled down sadly at the young boy, not trying to hide anything.

"I know that the choice ahead of you will indeed be difficult for you, young master. But, I have faith in you, we all do. And also, no matter what your decision will be, we will all stand behind you, even the spirits of Razul, your father, and your great-grandfather."

Kahna looked at Ahmed in wonder, and slowly began to smile. His shoulders shook with a quiet laughter, and he looked up admiringly at the Sandrock.

_You certainly chose a strange angel, great-grandfather_, he thought in amazement. _But, I got the message. Thank you._

"Ahmed, will you please go tell the engineers to stop their work on the Sandrock, and focus all their skill on the other three Gundams." Kahna said to the burly Arabian, a smile on his lips. At first, Ahmed was confused, then he saw the determination in the boy's eyes.

"It's time the Sandrock, and my great-grandfather's spirit, were finally put to rest. This is my battle, not his, Ahmed. And I will fight this battle on my own, from now on, with my own companions-" he paused looking to the Seraph almost proudly, "And my own means of fighting…"

Ahmed bowed to the young man, then smiled down at him proudly. As he walked off to do as Kahna had asked, Kahna himself turned to look at the Sandrock a final time.

"Rest well, great-grandfather…" he whispered, offering a prayer in Quatre's name. With a sigh of finality, Kahna turned back to the Seraph, and walked towards its open cockpit. To his surprise, he found Takeru standing there, looking at him with a strange gleam in his eyes. Slowly, he nodded, and a miniscule smile of approval tweaked at the corner of his mouth.

"You've done the right thing, Kahna." Takeru said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"Heh, well, let's just hope that I'll be able to live up to my decision." Kahna laughed quietly, then glanced up at the Seraph again. He likewise shoved his hands into the pockets of his slacks, feeling that he had indeed made the right choice.

"Kahna." Takeru's voice drew the young man's attention away from the Seraph. As he turned to look at Takeru, he just barely managed to see a dark blue and black helmet flying towards his head. Giving a small yelp, he thew his hands before his face defensively, catching the helmet before it actually hit him. Holding it out in curiosity, he looked from the helmet to Takeru.

"What's this?" he asked.

Takeru didn't answer right away, but instead turned around and grabbed what appeared to be a kind of flight suit made from white and dark blue material. He then tossed the flight suit at Kahna, along with a pair of black boots and arm guards.

"It's a Lunar Base standard issue flight suit. I found it inside the Seraph, shoved under the pilot's seat."

"Huh? A flight suit? But, what do I need this for?"

Takeru smirked in amusement before shoving his hands back in his pockets, then turned around and started heading back towards the Neo. "If you're going to be the Seraph's pilot, you should wear this flight suit whenever you pilot it, from now on. Don't worry, though, it's one size fits all, so you won't have to worry about it being too big or small. It's tight as hell, though, so it won't be too comfortable when you wear it."

"Huh?" Kahna looked down at the flight suit and helmet in his hands, not quite understanding. "Great, so… I have to wear this from now on? And what does he mean by 'tight as hell', or dare I ask?"

Shrugging helplessly to himself, Kahna dropped the flight suit into the helmet, along with its arm guards and boots. He'd worry about the strange thing later, for right now, he had some other things to do.

_We'll be leaving early tomorrow, so I'd better make certain that I'm prepared for this_, he thought in determination. _I can't let myself get distracted by anything, right now._

_I have to be ready, for tomorrow._

"Ugh! When you said this thing was tight, you weren't kidding!"

Kahna struggled with the flight suit, pulling with all his strength to make the thing fit. "Ergh- man! I thought you said this thing was one-size-fits-all?"

"It is." Takeru said calmly. Kahna looked over, and felt as if his eyes would pop out of his head. He had been struggling with the flight suit for the better part of half an hour, and yet Takeru was already in his, arm guards and everything, and pushing down on the fingers of the gloves. "The blue material that makes the gloves and feet is a lot like spandex, only thinner, air and water tight, and strong enough to stand up to the vacuum of space. The reason it's so tight is so you can still have a sharp sensation in your hands and feet. In other words, you can feel a pin prick your skin acutely, but the suit won't tear or damage so easily."

"How the heck did you manage to get yours on so fast?" Kahna asked in blunt amazement. Takeru sighed, and walked over to the struggling Kahna, kneeling beside him.

"I'm used to it." He said simply, "Here, there's a trick to getting it on easy. First off, put both of your feet into their respective legs."

Kahna did as instructed, and managed to get his second foot at the same point as his other foot. "Okay, now what?"

"You keep pulling with both hands in one spot." Takeru pointed out, "That won't get you anywhere. You need to grasp each side with one hand, and pull it up like a pair of pantyhose."

"Pantyhose?" Kahna looked at Takeru with skeptical eyes, "Are you serious?"

Takeru shrugged, "Hey, that's how it was described to me. Now shut up, and do it."

Still eyeing Takeru warily, Kahna grasped either side of one leg, and pulled. To his surprise, it came on much easier than before, sliding up into place. "Hey, it actually worked!"

"Good, now hurry up, and do the other leg." Takeru instructed.

Kahna did as ordered, finding it easier to pull the skin-tight flight suit on, now that he knew what he was doing. As he began pulling one arm into the suit, a funny thought struck him.

"Inori would laugh, if she saw this."

Takeru glanced up at him, then returned to helping him pull on the sleeve and glove. "What do you mean? She must've practically grown up wearing one these, and could probably put one on in seconds."

"No, I just mean how we must look." Kahna said, "I mean, this has gotta look rather ridiculous, don't you think?"

Takeru shrugged, "I guess you're right, but then again, she isn't here to laugh at us, is she."

That deflated Kahna's amusement, and he pulled the second arm of the flight suit on without so much as another sound. Tugging the zipper up to cover his underwear and muscle shirt, Kahna fidgeted with the fingers of the suit before pulling on the black arm guards and boots. The material was so thin and tight on his skin, it felt more as if he were pulling down on his own skin than the material of the suit. Once satisfied with the fingers, he took up the arm guards, and pulled them over.

"Hey, Takeru. Just what's the point of these arm guards, anyway?"

"Hmm?" Takeru glanced over from where he sat. "They're designed to prevent you from putting too much stress on your forearm muscles."

"Huh, that's a strange reason."

"Maybe," Takeru said, "But studies at the lunar base showed that piloting Mobile Suits puts a lot strain on your wrists and forearms, and tends to weaken the bones and muscles. By wearing these arm guards, it prevents the pilot from getting arthritis in that area, and keeps the muscles from weakening."

"Huhn." Kahna gave a short laugh of surprise, looking down at the arm guards on his forearms. "Who'da thunk it."

Once Kahna was finished putting on his new flight suit, both Gundam pilots took up their helmets, and headed to the Mobile Suit docks.

"What time is it now, Takeru? Do you know?"

"It's seven forty-three."

"Really? You know that without glancing at a watch or clock?"

"I make it a priority to mentally monitor the time, when I don't have access to a watch or clock."

"Oh." Kahna stared at his feet, not thinking it necessary to continue the conversation. Takeru seemed to be in an especially serious mood today, anyway, so it was probably better that he didn't say anything at this time. Today, they would be taking their first step to reclaiming the earth sphere from OZ. A solemn atmosphere seemed fitting, in a strange way. Both Sadam and Ahmed were waiting for them, when they arrived at the Mobile Suit docks. Neither wore any kind of flight suit, but they both wore expressions just as serious as Kahna and Takeru's own.

"Master Kahna." Sadam greeted them with a bow, Ahmed bowing with him. "As instructed, all troops are ready for immediate departure for their appointed destinations. We only wait your command."

"All right, then." Kahna nodded in approval. "Ahmed, Sadam, go to your Mobile Suits, and await my orders."

Once again, both men bowed in turn, before turning about and heading down the catwalk towards their respective Mobile Suits. Both Kahna and Takeru watched as the two men walked away, then Takeru turned towards the Neo, and climbed into the cockpit.

"You'd better get in the Seraph, we don't have a lot of time left, before departure."

"Huh? Oh, right." Kahna sprinted over to his new Gundam, hearing the Neo's cockpit seal behind him with a steely hiss. The Seraph's own cockpit was already open, and waiting for him to climb in. Inside the small, confined space, Kahna fell into the seat, pulling the dark blue helmet on over his pale blond hair, and adjusting the neck of the flight suit so it fit into the helmet as it was supposed to. Once his helmet was secured, he reached for the switch to close the cockpit's hatch, then strapped himself into the pilot's seat securely.

The pale light of the screens illuminated the darkness of the cockpit, allowing Kahna to visually find the controls. As he reached forward, Kahna paused, looking down at his hands. They were shaking, he could see it. Somewhere in the pit of his stomach, he finally felt the weight of what he was doing. By becoming the pilot of the Gundam Seraph, he would be taking on the most ironic of responsibilities, ending lives to save lives. One might almost say he was becoming a terrorist and mass murderer to prevent people from experiencing the sorrows of war. He would suffer, and he would fight, so others didn't have to.

Kahna balled his hands into fists, closing his eyes against their shivering. This _was_ the right thing to do, he knew it in his heart. So, why then, was he so reluctant?

"I- I don't understand…" he murmured softly to the Seraph. "I'm afraid to use you, no real surprise there. But, am I afraid of your piloting system, or am I afraid of what I might become if I take control of you…?"

"Stop hesitating, Kahna." Takeru's voice broke through the silence of his thoughts, bringing him back to reality with a start. "You've made your decision already, and there isn't any turning back from here. You know that."

"But, Takeru… is this the right thing?" Kahna ventured to ask, "I mean, what we're doing. How can I-"

"Kahna." Takeru's voice interrupted firmly. A long silence ensued, but eventually, Takeru spoke again. "It's because we're soldiers, Kahna. And soldiers don't ask questions."

Takeru was right, Kahna knew it, he was just hesitating. Shaking his head to clear away any distracting thoughts, Kahna gripped the Seraph's controls, backing the massive Gundam away from the dock. It was only a few minutes until eight, Kahna and Takeru had to be at the launch area before then.

Both Gundams made their way through the old base, passing by the engineers who still stood on the catwalks. As they passed by, all looked up at them, almost with a sense of awe. Their footsteps echoed hollowly throughout the base's interior, reverberating of the metal walls and ceiling. Takeru and Kahna were both so consumed by their own thoughts and determination, they paid no heed to their trek to the runways. The Maganac troops present had already separated themselves into their designated regiments. Ahmed and the Leo troops chosen to accompany Kahna stood on the side, an air of solemn determination surrounding all of them.

"Maganac Corps, report." Kahna snapped himself to attention, reviewing each of the chosen regiments carefully.

"First regiment, Red Group, all present. Destination, Cairo, Egypt."

"Second regiment, Blue Group, all soldiers accounted for. Designated target, OZ Mobile Suit space transportation facility, twenty-eight miles south of Jerusalem."

"Third regiment, Green Group, reporting. Target is OZ space harbor in Iran, located on the Caspian Sea, north of Tehran."

"Fourth regiment, Yellow Group, present. Target is OZ reinforcement and supply base, located in southwest Yemen."

"Fifth regiment, Brown Group, all accounted for. Our destination is the OZ facility located on the Iranian/ Afghanistan border."

"Sixth regiment, Orange Group, reporting. Target confirmed as OZ outpost on the northern Iraqi border."

"Seventh regiment, Purple Group, confirmed. Our destination and target is OZ outpost and supply base located in Amman, Jordan."

"Eighth regiment, Gray Group, here. Destination of OZ outpost in Syria, confirmed."

"Ninth regiment, Silver Group. Designated target is OZ Space harbor, located on Egypt's southeastern-most coastline of the Red Sea."

"Tenth regiment, Gold Group, all soldiers present. Target destination is OZ observation post, located a few miles west or Karachi, Pakistan."

"All right, good." Kahna nodded in confirmation. "All regiments, begin launch. Contact me on our frequency, once you've reached your target destinations."

Multiple shouts erupted over the communications frequency, and Kahna watched as the chosen regiments moved along the runways towards their respective carriers. Nodding proudly at his men, even though they couldn't see him, Kahna couldn't help but crack a smile.

"All right, White Unit, report. Ahmed, are we ready for departure?"

"Yes, Master Kahna." Ahmed's face appeared in the center of his screen, a grim look on his face. "Our carrier is on the southeast runway, awaiting us."

"Good. Our confirmed target is the OZ MS transport facility, located near Jeddah and Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Takeru, you're Black Unit. How about you, are you all set?"

Turning the Seraph in the Neo's direction, he saw that Takeru had already transformed the Gundam into its bird mode, and was waiting to take off."

"I'm always ready." Takeru said simply, his image appearing beside that of Ahmed's.

"You have your targets, I don't need to ask you to confirm them. Just contact me on the Maganac frequency when you arrive at your first location, and wait until I can give the order to attack."

Takeru only nodded before cutting off his communications. Kahna and the other Mobile Suits backed away from the transformed Neo, beginning their march to the southeast runway. Kahna paused to watch the Neo take off, hearing its roaring turbines fade into the broad sky above them. With a sigh, and a shake of his head. Kahna turned his attention back to the task at hand. Ahmed and the others were already loading their Mobile Suits onto the carrier. Kahna saw no reason to hurry, however. His Mobile Suit would be loaded last, since his would be the first to drop. Still, it left his mind time to wander, and Kahna didn't want to distract himself with anything.

Loading the Mobile Suits took less time than anticipated, not even half an hour, but by then, some of the other carriers had already launched. It hadn't been all that long, but Kahna felt as if Takeru must already be halfway to his first target destination. Of course, that would've been physically impossible for him, even in the Neo. Only the Azure could make such a distant location in so little time.

The thought of the Azure brought the painful ring of Inori's memory back into his mind, and he almost flinched. She was still in the medical bay, hooked up to life support machines. Kahna shut his eyes tightly, shaking his head to clear away the image from his thoughts. He couldn't even let his concern for Inori distract him, the upcoming battle was too important.

_Besides_, he thought, _I'm sure she'll be wide-awake and just as cocky as ever, when this is over. I just know it…_

"Master Kahna?"

The sound of Ahmed's inquiring voice brought him back to reality. He realized that the Seraph was already loaded, that he had somehow piloted the Gundam into the carrier and opened the cockpit's hatch. Staring up at Ahmed, he blinked a couple times, then laughed in embarrassment, realizing he must've sat in the open cockpit a little too long.

"Uh, sorry about that. I'll get out now." He scratched the back of his head nervously, ten reached down to unlatch his safety harness. A moment later, he had crawled out of the Seraph's cockpit, and was standing beside the carrier's pilot, watching the land beneath them give way to the expanse of the ocean.

"How long until we arrive at out target destination?" he ventured to ask.

"At our current speed, it'll take two and a half hours." The pilot answered, making quick calculations in his head.

"All right then." Kahna turned to the men in his small unit. "Well then, gentlemen. All we can do for now is try to calm our nerves before the upcoming battle."

As he looked from Ahmed to each and every other man in the unit, he felt slightly uncomfortable. It was too quiet, they were concerned about the battle ahead, he could tell. Perhaps, they were too concerned. Kahna felt as if he had to do something to make them all relax.

"So, uh… anybody got a way to pass the time?" he ventured to ask. The men looked at each other in confusion. "A game, maybe? Charades? Poker? Anybody?"

Again, he received only a confused response, as well as arcing brows in his direction. Kahna sighed in helpless defeat.

_Who knows_, he thought, _maybe **I'm** really the one who's being too concerned_.

A gruff, but polite cough interrupted Kahna's thoughts, and drew his attention, as well as all the others', towards Ahmed. The tall, burly Arabian folded his arms across his chest, his eyes closed in determination.

"Master Kahna…" he said, making Kahna raise his eyebrows in curiosity. "I believe that…"

Ahmed paused, keeping everyone looking at him in curiosity. Ahmed rarely spoke very much, so this was a rare opportunity for everyone.

"That…" the suspense was almost too much for Kahna, and he was getting a little impatient. Suddenly, Ahmed looked up, a big, silly grin plastered onto his face. "That we should play pictionary!"

The silence that followed after was deafening, Kahna could've sworn that he felt the other men blanche in surprise and off-balanced embarrassment. As he saw Ahmed fish around for some paper and writing utensils, however, he slowly began to smile.

_Is he doing this to keep me at ease?_ Kahna ventured to ask himself, smiling fondly at the tall and burly Arabian. Ahmed suddenly cried out in victory as he managed to find a thick pad of paper, a pencil, and a pen. Kahna raised an eyebrow in skepticism.

_Or… maybe it's just that, he likes to play pictionary a lot… Oh well!_

"Estimated remaining time to reach destination; 49 minutes and counting."

Takeru glanced at the screen for what must've been the thousandth time. Even though he knew that he would easily reach his first destination, he would still have to wait until all other attack squadrons were in place before he could make any kind of move against his enemies. That meant finding a hiding place, and then sitting in silence for an undeterminable amount of time. That would give him time to think, which was exactly what he didn't want to do. Ever since he had come back with Inori, he hadn't been able to sit silently for a single moment. His thoughts would start straying to places he didn't want them to, so he tried to remain active, constantly. He had even helped Kahna with his training simulations, by fighting against him in the Neo's own simulator.

The only time he had been able to endure the silence without having his mind stray was when he had been at Inori's side, or sitting within the confines of the Neo's cockpit. For some reason, those had been the only times he hadn't been able to think at all. Now, however, he would be forced to think, about everything. He wondered, would Rem show up at any of these battles? Would the Omen suddenly come crashing in, and destroy everything that was in its path? Would Kahna be able to handle the Seraph's piloting system, or would he loose control? What if they people at the base would suddenly have to flee? What, then, would become of Inori? Would she be left there, because they couldn't escape in time with her?

Takeru shook his head violently, already feeling the walls of his mind close in on him. His emotions had been hounding him, lately, demanding that he admit the reason why he had saved Inori. They demanded to know how he truly felt, about Rem, about Kahna, about being a Gundam pilot, about everything. Takeru, in turn, had been running from them, running from the silence that made him think, so he wouldn't have to confront himself. Now, however, it felt as if he didn't have any other choice.

"Estimated remaining time to reach destination; 43 minutes, and counting."

It wasn't a comfortable feeling, knowing that he was trying to forget his own emotions and thoughts. They seemed to be too much of a distraction to him though, at this point in time. The truth was, he hadn't heard so much as a rumor about Rem, since Lake Victoria. Even Doctor Crow seemed to be at a loss. For all appearances, both Rem and Lazarus may've very well just have disappeared entirely. Takeru knew, however, and had formulated his own theories. While he was uncertain about Lazarus, he had the distinct feeling that Rem was no longer even on the earth sphere. As for Kahna, he couldn't waste his time worrying of the young Winner heir's abilities. If he was truly determined to fight this battle, then he would have no other choice but to master the system. As for Inori, whatever happened, happened. There wasn't anything he could do for her now, anyway.

He remembered what he had been told, two days ago. He had been at Inori's side, Kahna was with him, when the doctor had entered, a chart in hand…

_"Master Kahna, I would like to speak to you about Miss Kazama's condition."_

_"Have you… found something?"_

Kahna looked so hopeful, his eyes almost brightening to a glow.

_"No, I'm terribly sorry, young master."_

_"Oh…"_

_"Master Kahna, to tell the truth, there isn't a single thing more we can do for her, other than keep her hooked up to life support. None of our doctors are familiar with psionics, and to be honest, we're not certain if she will ever wake up."_

At this point, Kahna's entire expression deflated. He turned around, a forlorn, empty look in his eyes. Takeru could see the tears brimming around the edge, small, but threatening to fall.

_"I've discussed the situation with many of the other doctors, and we think that…_"

Takeru saw the doctor's hesitation, saw him look away with a sad, nervous look. He didn't need to hear anything else the doctor had to say. His eyes narrowing dangerously, Takeru rose from his seat at Inori's side.

_"You think you should pull the plug on her, and see what happens."_

Both Kahna and the doctor looked in his direction both just as surprised. As Takeru approached the two of them, Kahna's eyes widened in shock, then he turned to the doctor.

_"No! There's no way I'll let you!"_

_"Master Kahna, please listen-"_

_"No! Doctor Crow told Takeru that Inori would wake up in her own time, that she'd find a way back to herself, and I trust his words. Inori will wake up, eventually, I'm sure of it!"_

_"Young master, please calm yourself. Miss Kazama is in a state of suspended animation, a level I have never seen before. On top of it all, she is a psionic. There's no telling what will happen if we simply take her off the machines, maybe nothing- urk!"_

Takeru grasped the doctor by his lab coat, twisting the cloth in his fist, and lifting the man clear of the ground.

_"I'm a little more familiar with the treatment used on psionics, thanks to my stay at the lunar base. I can tell you with all certainty, that if you pull that plug, Inori will die. Her mind may be lost, but without a body, she'll never have a way of getting back._

_"Now, I'm going to tell you this once, and only once, doctor-"_

Takeru tightened his grip, bringing the doctor's face inches from his own.

_"Do- not- touch- Inori! You will leave her on those machines, and before you even think of giving her so much as an injection, you will contact both Kahna and myself, is that clear, doctor?"_

The man, now clearly frightened, only nodded his head hastily, his eyes wide. Takeru set the doctor back down on his feet, and folded his arms over his chest, staring ominously at the doctor. The man almost ran out of the room, Takeru had scared him so badly. Kahna looked up at the much taller Gundam pilot in surprise as Takeru sighed helplessly to himself, and returned to Inori's side.

_"Takeru… I didn't know you were so defensive of Inori…"_

_"Neither did I."_

_"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"_

Takeru paused, uncertain he could answer. He didn't know what it meant, he didn't know why he had been so violently defensive of Inori. He was still trying to figure out why he hadn't killed her at Victoria, but taken her with him, instead.

_"I thought I saved Inori to repay the debt I owed her for what happened in Australia. But, the more I think about it, the less certain I am. The doctor may well have been right about pulling the plug on Inori, but for some reason, I felt I couldn't let that happen, like it would be a betrayal to her._

_"Inori… is my companion. The only one I've ever really had. She's the only other person I've ever shaken hands with, besides Crow. For some reason, I've never noticed it, but, I felt some kind of… kinship, with her. I didn't understand it, and I don't think I wanted to…"_

Kahna looked at Takeru in concern, looking at him for a long moment. Slowly, a smile spread across his face, and he walked to stand beside Takeru, and the sleeping Inori.

_"Inori once told me something, about herself. She said that, despite her easy-going demeanor, she took things a lot more seriously than people tended to think. That, deep inside, she was a soldier, and despite all outward appearances, she would always be a soldier. And, she was right. Whenever we fought together, I could see it, hear it in her voice. She never let her emotions get in the way of her mission, she was always focused, and thought with a clear head._

_"When I met you, Takeru, at first, you struck me as the exact opposite of Inori, but then, I noticed many similarities in the way you both fought. Not in techniques or tactics, but spiritually. Eventually, it dawned on me that you were an outward manifestation of how Inori must feel on the inside, how she is as a soldier. It was a total irony, really…"_

Takeru opened his eyes from the memory, finding himself gazing at the empty view of the land offered by his screens. He had long since passed over the ocean, but the scenery before him gave him the distinct feeling that he was rushing headlong through some strange dream. Kahna had called Inori a soldier, despite all pretences of appearance and personality. Takeru himself had always been a soldier, he had never been able to be anything else. He saw no reason to allow himself to be distracted by anything, and focused whole-heartedly on his mission assignments. He did things mechanically, almost, except when he was fighting.

To him, it had seemed that had always been when he was the most alive, the most human. In a battle, his soul was fully exposed, all of his strengths and weaknesses, and though he fought within the massive armor of his Gundam, he had always felt vulnerable somehow. That vulnerability, that sensation of humanity and his own mortality, gave him a strange sense of comfort. Outside of the battle, outside the Neo's gundanium skin, he had to create his own barriers, his own shields. Inori, however, could strip away all his defenses with only a few words. It was something else entirely to be vulnerable in the open, before others, and yet, he still had been given that sensation of his own humanity.

Inori had built her own defenses against vulnerability, and they were far more complex and intricate than his own. Where he was straightforward, she was evasive. Where he was blunt, she was gentle. Where he hid his emotions, she openly displayed them. Inori hid herself by staying out in the open, but in turn, understood him well enough to expose him, and make him aware of his weaknesses. Still, after all that, one fact remained; She understood him, possibly better than he knew himself. He was drawn to her, to the way she seemed to stumble around in circles, and yet always manage to complete her task in less time, and with more efficiency than anyone else. And while Inori was undoubtedly a fit and beautiful woman, her physical appearance had very little to do with his attraction. She enraged and fascinated him all at once.

Takeru sighed helplessly, amazed that he had admitted that much to himself. _Well, I said it, I'm attracted to her. There, it's out, but that doesn't quite explain why I saved her at Victoria… I don't believe it, I sound like some pubescent teenager in denial. _He glanced at the clock at the bottom of the screen, and his eyebrows arced in surprise.

"Estimated remaining time to reach destination; 13 minutes, and counting." Apparently, his deep thinking had either made him fall asleep, or had kept him too focused elsewhere for him to notice just how much time had passed. "Hunh…"

Shrugging helplessly to himself, he gripped at the controls of the Neo, knowing he would soon have to decelerate, and find a place to hide until the Maganac regiments were all in place. Still, somewhere inside of himself, he no longer felt the need to hide from his own thoughts anymore, and a strange sense of comfort came over him.

While battle made Takeru vulnerable as a human being, made him draw out his hidden strengths, there was something else. Something that made him vulnerable as an actual person, and he knew, somewhere in the back of his head, that while he was afraid of that vulnerability, he craved it as well, more than anything else.

"How many regiments have reported in?"

"Currently, four of the ten designated color regiments have reported their arrival at their locations, Master Kahna. As well as Black Unit."

Within the cockpit of the Gundam Seraph, Kahna gave a small, helpless laugh. "Well, no shock there. Takeru was probably at his first target location before any of the others." He reached up, running a final, brief systems check. He had been in his Gundam's cockpit for at least half an hour before they're arrival, making certain everything was in order.

"All right, once all the Mobile Suits have cleared some distance, get this carrier out of here, and go to the designated rendezvous point. We'll contact you as soon as we've secured our position."

"Roger"

Breathing out slowly to calm his nerves, Kahna made certain his flight suit's helmet was secured one last time. Wrapping his fingers about the Seraph's controls, he brushed aside any distracting thoughts.

"Gundam Seraph, launch!"

The back of the carrier opened, letting in a torrent of air with a strong vacuum that pulled at the kneeling Mobile Suits. With the defensive wings folded carefully about itself, the Seraph allowed itself to be taken by the tremendous vacuum, the metal of its feet grinding sharply against the carrier's base before falling free.

The Seraph shook violently from turbulence, forcing Kahna back into the pilot's seat. Once he had safely cleared the carrier, he brought all systems to life, the great wings snapping open, and slowing the Gundam's descent. He saw Ahmed's Maganac above, followed by the three beam canon-equipped Leos. Their thrusters came on in bursts, slowing their heavy descent, and keeping each Mobile Suit safely away from each other.

Turning his attention away, Kahna looked at where he would be landing. He hadn't cued the reverse thrusters yet, trusting the Seraph's ability. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes against the screens.

_Okay, let's see if this idea of Takeru's works or not_, Kahna thought to himself, continuing to breath deeply. He ignored everything, forgot the controls gripped between his fingers, forgot that he was in the Mobile Suit's cockpit. An absolute silence seemed to envelop him, and he heard nothing except for the sound of his breathing within the helmet. His fingers felt a biting cold, he couldn't feel the controls, couldn't feel the pilot's seat or its safety harness. He felt a distinct fear, welling inside the pit of his stomach. His breathing became faster, frightened. He lost all sense of orientation, didn't know up from down, he only had a distinct feeling of falling. It was very surreal, much like a dream, where there was nothing but the sensation of falling. That feeling, the fear that welled within him, it was all consuming. If this was a dream, why wasn't he waking up!

Kahna's eyes snapped open, wide with an unshakable fear. He was in the Seraph's cockpit, he could see it, even see his hands on the controls, but- he didn't feel them! He could see himself, the screens, even the restraints that held him into the pilot's seat, be he couldn't feel them. He started to panic, was he going numb? All he could hear was his own rapid, heavy breathing, within the helmet of his flight suit.

Kahna shook his head to clear away his distracting thoughts, slowing down his breathing, and forcing himself to calm down. Sensation returned to his fingers, and he could once again feel his grip biting tightly into the controls. He sighed helplessly, realizing that he wasn't quite ready to go that far with the Sub-ZERO system.

_So… that's what the Sub-ZERO system does…_

Checking his elevation, Kahna cued the Seraph's reverse thrusters, slowing the falling Mobile Suit's descent. There was a tingling sensation in his fingers, like they had been asleep. Probably the side effects from his attempted integration with the system. It dawned on him that the falling sensation he had experienced, the distant sound of the wind whistling, was exactly what the Seraph had been going through. The Seraph had been free falling, like a skydiver, and by integrating with the system, Kahna had mentally taken place of the Seraph, so it was more like he was falling, rather than the Gundam. He remembered hearing Inori describe the system, she had said that it made the Mobile Suit like an extension of the pilot's will, but that wasn't right. Instead of making the suit seem like a part of the pilot, it changed the pilot's mental perspective, that he _was_ the Mobile Suit.

The surreal feeling surrounding the whole experience made it all very dream-like, which was why it was so dangerous to loose control of one's emotions while using the system. Emotions ruled the events that happened in a dream, and as they heightened, could make the pilot start to hallucinate, even drive him to the point of insanity, all because he thought he was dreaming.

"It's certainly an interesting way of looking at things…" he commented absently to himself. Looking at the screens, he increased the output of his reverse thrusters, bringing the Seraph to a mid-air stop. He was only a few meters from the ground, and slowly descended the rest of the way, letting the Gundam land heavily on its feet. The protective wings folded carefully over the suit, as Kahna turned the head skyward, watching the Maganac and Leos that accompanied him as they landed heavily on the sands.

"All right," Kahna looked around, confirming each landing. "We're only a few miles southeast from our designated target. Hopefully, the stealth measures that we took from the Gundams have shielded us from the enemy's radar. Let's get to a place where we can see the base, and hide safely."

"Roger." The soldiers of his small unit spoke in unison, bringing a small, amused smile to his lips. All Mobile Suits turned to the northwest, beginning a steady walk towards their target. While it would be a long trek to their designated location, Kahna knew that many of his other men, in the other color-named groups, were still in carriers, and would have a much more difficult time getting to their targets as safely. With a sigh, Kahna mentally reassured himself, though it was a bit of a struggle to keep his mind off of distracting thoughts.

"Master Kahna, judging by the speed we're going at, it'll take us about twenty minutes or so to reach our position." Ahmed's voice and image came up on the right side of his screen.

"Then we report back to the carrier in twenty minutes, there isn't much else we can do for right now." Kahna said, finding to his surprise that his voice sounded more confident than he felt.

"I've received a report from the carrier, that Red Group, Blue Group, and Brown Group have all arrived safely, and awaiting the command to attack."

"Well, including Green Group, Orange Group, Purple Group, and Yellow Group, that makes seven out of ten regiments, and Takeru's already in his position, waiting. We'll be at our destination shortly, and then, we just have to wait for the other regiments to report in. For right now, though, let's just try to focus on getting to our destination."

Ahmed nodded his agreement, and his image vanished from the Seraph's screen. Kahna sighed again, trying to let out some of his concerns.

"Take it easy, Kahna, the base isn't going to run away…" he murmured softly to himself. Flipping up the visor to his helmet, he wiped away the sweat that had been beading on his forehead. He knew his was worrying about things far too much, and more than he was letting on. Still, he couldn't let his men see how concerned he was, he needed to be strong, for them, or at least appear to be. He didn't want them worrying needlessly on his account.

"Master Kahna?" the voice of one of the Leo troops brought him to attention. "We should be able to see our target once we crest this dune."

"All right, let's keep our stealth on, and try to hide your movements as best you can. I don't want them picking us up on radar before the remaining regiments are in position."

Just as the soldier predicted, once the main cameras of their Mobile Suits could see over the sand dune, the OZ transport facility came into view. While it mostly consisted of multiple large hangars, and long runways, there was a base and control tower located on the corner nearest to them. He saw a number of small sand dunes near the base itself, and nodded to himself in satisfaction.

"Break out the camouflage nets, we'll need them if we're going to cross the distance to the base." Kahna ordered, turning his attention back to their task at hand. "Once we're ready, we'll head for that set of small dunes near the base. It shouldn't be too hard for us to disguise our Mobile Suits there."

"Master Kahna, I've detected a group of bogies on radar, approaching from ten o'clock."

"Probably a patrol unit, hurry up with those camouflage nets!"

"Roger!"

The Leo troops hurriedly threw the nets over the Gundam, Ahmed's Maganac, and their own suits. All Mobile Suits then dropped flat to the ground, as if laying face-down in the sand, and Kahna was forced to spread the Seraph's protective wings, so he could pick himself up again, once the patrol unit was gone. Burying themselves in the sand as best they could, the small regiment silenced their systems, masking the heat sources of their Mobile Suits by using the desert's own heat. Kahna bit his lip, thinking for a moment on how the sand must be getting into the Gundam's joints, and how it would affect his movement.

"The enemy should be passing by at any moment, Master Kahna."

"Cut all communications." Even as he spoke his last few words, he heard the line cut out, and he did likewise on his own end. The only thing he could see on his screens beside the sand in front of the main camera was what the rear camera picked up, showing him the sky through the holes in the net. He was practically being suspended from the safety harness, and the straps were cutting uncomfortably into his shoulders. The sound of turbines was too close for him to be worried about anything else, though.

They came into view, three small flying units going across the sky. The Gundam's screen automatically zoomed in, allowing Kahna a clearer look at the patrol unit.

"Are those Aries…?" he asked himself, leaning a little closer to the screen. Realizing they were indeed Aries units, Kahna fell back into the pilot's seat, blinking in surprise. "Why would they be using Aries, when they have Virgo S. units?"

Almost as if to answer his question, a space Mobile Suit transport exploded from the nearby base, launching high into the skies above, and vanishing from sight entirely.

_That's right, I almost forgot. OZ is recalling the majority of its forces to outer space, to help with the attacks that have started up in the colonies._ Kahna sighed, and mentally berated himself for forgetting something like that. He turned his attention back to the Aries Suits, which were no longer in sight, but still within range of his radar. He waited a few moments longer, making certain they were no longer within range to pick the movements of his Mobile Suit. The Gundam picked itself out of the sands, along with the Maganac and Leos accompanying it. Communications was restored between the unit, using only burst transmissions.

"All right, let's hurry to those dunes, and hope we don't have any more patrols to worry about." Kahna ordered briskly, carefully folding the Gundam's giant, protective wings about itself one again. Without using their boosters, the Mobile Suits made the trek across the sand at the equivalent of a jog, camouflage nets still thrown across them protectively. Despite the distance and danger, they still managed to make it safely to the dunes in a short amount of time. Once there, they settled into the sands carefully, kneeling so as to keep their main cameras on the base itself.

"Made it." Kahna sighed in relief, as he opened communications with the carrier that had brought them this far. "Carrier 01, this is White Unit, reporting. We have reached our target destination, and are now awaiting the confirmation of all regiments."

"Roger that, White Unit. All regiments except for Gray Group have reported in, and are standing by."

"Roger, once Gray Group reports in, give the order to attack. This is White Unit, over and out." The brief commune cut out, and Kahna fell back into his seat. He felt sweat on his palms, and unconsciously wiped his hands on his flight suit. When the moisture didn't go away, he looked at his hands curiously, and saw the blue material of the flight suit. He shook his head, annoyed that he had forgotten about that.

"Try to relax, Master Kahna." Ahmed's image appeared on the screen.

"I guess I just can't help being nervous." Kahna shrugged helplessly. "Despite how small our numbers are, this will probably be the largest counter-offensive to take place in decades."

Kahna breathed in slowly, letting the air out through his nostrils. "I just hope that we can pull this off..."

The sun was fading into the west, painting the sky with radiant colors of red and orange. Takeru thought it oddly fitting, as if the sky were expressing what would soon be happening, to light up the darkness of the night. Just like that, almost as if on cue with his thoughts, the radio crackled with an incoming burst transmission.

"Gray Group has reported in, all regiments are in position. Commence attack, repeat, all regiments, commence attack!"

The Neo's cockpit systems blinked to life as Takeru curled his fingers about the controls in a tight grip. The unique material of the flight suit allowed him to feel each grove in the plastic, the recess of each switch as it met his fingertip. The roar of the turbines was beyond his ears, there was only the vibrations of the cockpit as the Neo Wing Gundam ZERO, in Bird Mode, surged forward with all speed, the force pushing Takeru back into his pilot's seat.

"No need to worry about being discovered, now." He murmured to himself.

He came in low, the buster rifle's on either side firing at the main body of the communications tower, and destroying it in a single shot. The remaining ruble erupted into flames as it crumbled to the earth. The towers remaining defenses, surface to air missiles and multiple laser cannon turrets, were taken into manual control.

"I can easily handle these minor defenses, but where are the Mobile Suits?" Takeru thought aloud to himself. Just as the words came out of his mouth, multiple platforms that had remained hidden under the runways came to the surface, much like the ones on the lunar base, each holding two Mobile Suits. He counted at least fifteen Virgo S units, everything else was either your basic Leo or Aries unit. There were close to forty suits in all, as he estimated, and never one to underestimate an enemy, Takeru guessed that more were still underground.

The Aries came first, being the fastest in air mobility. Takeru complied with their charge, changing the Neo into its Mobile Suit form, and raising the shield to block against their oncoming gunfire. The twin buster rifles connected into a single, powerful weapon, and Takeru took aim, but only roughly at the attacking Aries. Directing the beam weapon at the laser turrets and Mobile Suit platforms at the ground, Takeru fired with the intention of taking out any minor threats that remained. While he managed to destroy a good number of OZ Leo troops, and practically destroyed all the remaining ground turrets, as the smoke cleared away, he could see the energy crackling from the electromagnetic fields created by the Virgo S units. He still had Aries remaining to worry about, as well, but he wasn't too concerned about them.

Reversing tactics, Takeru reversed his ascent, cutting out his Gundam's thrusters, and letting the Mobile Suit drop to the earth like a stone. Switching its hold on the twin buster rifle, the Neo used its now free right hand, and reached up to the left shoulder, pulling its beam saber free of its socket. Just before reaching the ground, the reverse thrusters kicked in, allowing the Neo to make a heavy landing on the pavement. Changing his direction for a third time, Takeru blazed forth, towards the Virgo S units on the ground. Using the momentum of his Mobile Suit, Takeru forced energy of the beam saber through a Virgo's electromagnetic shield, and into the cockpit of the Mobile Suit. A second Virgo came in from his left, forcing Takeru to abandon the beam saber, and back away. Switching his hold on the buster rifle again, he swung the Neo's shield arm across hard, the pointed end tearing through the Virgo's chest and head, and hurling it away.

Takeru continued his assault on the Virgo's relentlessly, rushing forward and grabbing one by the head, crushing it beneath the Neo's grasp. Using the Mobile Suit as leverage, Takeru made the Gundam leap into the sky, landing heavily on yet another Virgo. Takeru shoved the barrel of his twin buster rifle into the Virgo's cockpit, and fired. The blast cut through the Mobile Suit, and into the Mobile Suit docks below the runway. The ground shook violently, before caving in underneath the remaining Mobile Suits, even destroying the Leos in the area, and a number of Virgo suits. Takeru had used the Neo's mobility to clear the collapse, so his Gundam wouldn't be caught in the rubble. The great Mobile Suit landed on the outskirts of the runway, just beyond the rim of the collapse. The radar alerted Takeru to the remaining Aries as they approached him. With little though, he roughly aimed his twin buster rifle in their direction. The brilliant beam lit up the night, reducing the Aries suits to mere ash in moments.

Takeru dropped the twin buster rifle to the ground, knowing it would have too cool down before he could use it again. That left him with the mounted vulcans near the neck, and a second beam saber that remained in a socket in the right shoulder. The beam saber would serve as his primary weapon, until the buster rifle cooled down.

The dust of the explosion began to settle, clearing enough for Takeru to see the surviving Virgo units as they climbed free of the rubble. There was only a small number remaining, now, the collapsing ground had taken care of the rest.

"I don't have time to be playing around with these puppets." Takeru growled low. The Neo reached up to its right shoulder drawing the beam saber concealed there. "I'll just have to take care of them quickly."

The vernier boosters roared aloud with Takeru's charge, as he rapidly down into the smoky depths of the crater created by the blast.

"Ahmed! Get ready for them!"

When the battle had begun, Kahna found himself in a much more dangerous situation than predicted. This particular facility had as of yet to send off its remaining Virgo S units, and after their initial attack on the main launch platforms, those remaining Mobile Suits had been quickly assembled for battle. He and his small unit were now facing off against a much greater number of Mobile Suits than predicted, over sixty, with the majority consisting of Virgo S units. The rest were basic Leo suits, nothing to really worry about, since they were easily dispatched with their superior skill, but the Virgos still remained as the most prominent threat.

A Leo recklessly charged them, giving Kahna cause to believe the pilot wasn't a soldier under the same influence as Virgo S pilots. The Seraph fell back a step, then quickly turned to one side, catching the Leo with an outstretched arm, and reversing its momentum, hurling it backwards. Kahna followed up by stepping on the chest, just above the cockpit, and putting all the Gundam's weight onto its foot, letting the Seraph's mass crush the Leo underneath it. He could almost imagine the pilot's screams, and had to shake his head violently to clear the sound away, a mistake that almost cost him dearly. While Kahna had been distracted with the Leo, a Virgo attacked from behind, its powerful beam cannon driving the Gundam to its knees. Fortunately, Ahmed caught the Virgo with his Maganac, hurling it to the ground, and firing into its cockpit at point-blank range, allowing Kahna to recover.

"Master Kahna, are you all right?" Ahmed dared to ask.

"Yeah, thanks Ahmed." Kahna breathed his thanks heavily, turning his attention back to the battle at hand.

_Have I made a mistake?_ He ventured in thought, _Should I have waited to give the order to attack? I've put my men in such terrible danger, and there's so few of us…_

"Master Kahna! Stay focused!" Ahmed shouted over their communications link. "We have the Seraph, now! You must believe in its power, and in your own skill!"

Kahna found himself almost moved to tears by Ahmed's words, he couldn't explain why. Sweat beaded on his forehead, forcing him to wipe it away with his fist. He paused, feeling the line of a scar along his skin. He couldn't remember where it came from, his mind seemed so fuzzy and vague…

_"Please, Master Kahna… For your father's sake…"_

"Razul?" Kahna whispered to himself, everything seemed so quiet at that moment. Had that been Razul's voice he just heard? It couldn't be, Razul was…

_Razul is dead… That's how I got this scar, in the fight against Rem…_

Kahna shook his head violently, clearing his eyes of the moisture that rimmed them. Clutching Seraph's controls with an iron grip, he almost tore one of the giant scimitars from its protective wing. The great, curved blade descended in a wide arc, cleaving through a Virgo's defense field, and clear into the Mobile Suit's cockpit. With a feral cry that seemed to reverberate in his own ears, Kahna swung the heavy gundanium blade to one side, tearing through the Virgo and into another.

"Engage them up close! Use blunt attacks, their electromagnetic shields only divert beam weapons, not solid objects!"

Using the Virgo before him as a stepping stone, the Seraph ran clear up the front of the Mobile Suit, and landed heavily on top of it, the gundam's foot crushing the Mobile Suit's head beneath its weight. Rising from a kneeling position, he swung the Seraph's beam cannon across, but not with any intention of firing the weapon. The barrel of the weapon collided into a Virgo, and hurled it away to crash into one of its own. Kahna followed up by charging both Virgos, using the Seraph's boosters to give him an added edge of speed, and holding the gundam's scimitar in a set position. The blade ran itself clear through one Virgo, and into the second, from the added thrust. Hurling the first suit aside, Kahna brought the scimitar to bear, and finished off the remaining Virgo in a wide swing of his scimitar that nearly severed the upper torso off of his opponent.

Kahna's victory was short-lived, as he toppled over from a collective blast on the back of his gundam. He could hear the metal scraping against the pavement as the massive suit skidded along the ground. A Virgo dropped itself on top of his downed Mobile Suit, pinning him to the ground, its beam weapon hovering ominously over the Seraph's back. Kahna knew he was in trouble, he couldn't seem to get his bearings straight, and was virtually helpless. Unable to see or detect the Virgo above him

_Come on, Kahna! Pull yourself together! Razul isn't here to save you, this time, you have to rely on yourself!_ His mind working desperately, Kahna forced himself to close his eyes and calm down, letting his consciousness seep away as it had before. Falling into the piloting system until he could no longer feel himself gripping the Seraph's controls. He was lying down, his face on the rough pavement. There was someone's foot digging into his back, pinning him down, and the barrel of a weapon prodding his spine.

Kahna's eyes snapped open, and he reached behind himself, grabbing the foot that had him pinned, and pulling the Virgo's balance out from under it, making it topple over. It was strange, Kahna could still see out of the cockpit screens, but he could also see things from the Seraph's own perspective. He started to panic, sweat beading on his forehead. The only thing he could hear was his own heavy breathing within his helmet, but he still felt the ground beneath his fingers, as if her were on his hands and knees. He gasped for air, like he was suffocating. In desperation, he reached a hand up to his neck, trying to pull the flight suit away from his throat.

_Stop._ A voice in his head silently calmed him, slowing his breathing, and allowing him to think clearly. _If I keep this up, I'll end up getting myself, and everyone who came with me killed. I have to handle this, it was my own choice to take up the Seraph, and if I fail now, I'll be ruining everything. I have to do this, for myself, at the very least._

Collecting himself, Kahna dropped away his conscious self, melding into the Sub-ZERO system. As long as he was within the Seraph, he ceased to be himself, and instead gave his consciousness over to the suit itself. Ignoring the cockpit in front of him, he looked up at the battle raging around him. There was still a good number of Virgos left to fight, and the only remaining Leos were from his own unit. They were all damaged, even Ahmed's Maganac, but were still holding their ground. Rising from the ground, the Seraph started running forward, still holding its scimitar. He shouldered aside and tackled one Virgo, dropping it to the ground, and began hammering into it with the Scimitar's handle. Shattering the Virgo's head, he abruptly reversed the scimitar, and drove its pointed tip through its chest.

Yanking the blade free, he just caught another Virgo as it approached out of the corner of his eye. Carefully folding its right wing, the Seraph, spun about on its knees, briefly rolling onto its right side to return to a kneeling position, its left beam cannon arm outstretched towards the charging Virgo. He caught mobile suit with the barrel of his beam cannon, its chest thumping heavily into the weapon, and making him roll onto his back. Despite his lost advantage, he was now free to fire at point blank range, his weapon already through the suits' defensive barrier. A flash of brilliant light, and the Virgo was left with a smoking hole in its chest. As it toppled forward, he placed his free feet onto what was left of the upper torso, and used his legs to hurl the suit over him without pinning him to the ground.

Finally free to stand, the Seraph picked itself up off the ground, scanning the battlefield. The remaining Virgo S units were gathering into some kind of defensive formation, even the units battling Ahmed and the other men had fallen back. The scattered Virgos regrouped into a single unit, taking up point positions for defense. They turned their attention on Ahmed, concentrating their fire on the second strongest of the group, and soon had the Maganac enclosed in a deadly sphere.

"No!" Kahna shouted in protest, the Seraph launching itself into the sky. He knew his beam cannon couldn't get past their electromagnetic fields, so he simply decided to drop in from above. On the way down, he brought the barrel of his beam cannon arm heavily across the chest of one of the seven guarding Virgos that defended the rest, using its bulk as a shield for himself. This opened up a gap in their defenses for the Leo troops who yet remained outside to take advantage of. Kahna also dispatched a second Virgo on his way into their sphere with his scimitar, rendering it inert. He crashed into the center of the sphere, quickly destroying the Virgo he had used as a shield, and turning his ready beam cannon on the Virgos inside the sphere, that had as of yet to react to his entrance. The brilliant light consumed a small number of enemy Mobile Suits before the Virgos finally brought their electromagnetic shields to bare. By this time, however, the outside Leo troops were working the gap in their defenses enough to have created a large enough hole to escape through that the Virgos could not compensate for. They scattered yet again, trying to regroup, and losing two more of their forces in the process.

"Ahmed! Are you all right!" Kahna rushed over to the burly Arabian's Mobile Suit, and bit his lip at the damage it had received. Ahmed's Maganac had lost an arm, and much of the armor was badly damaged, but the sturdy suit still rose to its feet in front of the Gundam. Ahmed was too proud and stubborn a man to let himself die so easily.

"Quite fine, young master." Ahmed reassured the Winner heir, "However, I doubt that my Mobile Suit can sustain much more damage."

Kahna breathed out a sigh of relief. "I understand. All right, then, how many enemy units yet remain?"

"About twenty-seven Virgo S units, master Kahna."

"Ha, that should be easy enough." Kahna snorted, turning to face the remaining Virgos, only to be stopped short.

"Wait! Master Kahna, don't you think it strange that these Virgos are relying so much on tactics?" Ahmed insisted, stopping the Seraph's headlong charge.

"What do you mean, Ahmed?"

"Well, from what Miss Kazama has told us, I've been thinking, these pilots run on programming, right? Much like a computer, or like remote control. It seems to me that, while they have their programming, the still need to be issued a command, before attacking, or even using tactics."

"Just what are you trying to get at?"

"I'm saying, that I think they are being issued commands from somewhere on the base, after all, these suits were prepared for departure to outer space, so their programming must've been altered, or something, so they weren't configured for ground battles. We haven't destroyed the base yet, just the launch platforms and gun turrets!"

As if a rock had just struck him in the head, Kahna understood what Ahmed was trying to say. The programming of the pilots for the Virgo S units had to be changed or erased, if they were going to be fighting in outer space. That no doubt had to be done on earth, before they left, so in order to fight on the earth without the according programming, they would need to be transmitted the data, but it wasn't permanent. If he found and destroyed the transmitter, the Virgos would be nullified, and rendered totally inert.

"All right, I see your point, Ahmed." He agreed. "You just hold off those Virgos for a few moments, and I'll destroy the base!"

As the Seraph launched itself into the sky, Ahmed took up a downed Virgo's beam cannon with his Maganac's remaining arm, firing at the Virgos as they approached. The Leos did likewise, allowing the Seraph enough time to gain enough height over the base. One Virgo slipped through their defense line, and charged towards the hovering gundam as it took aim at the base below. It's electromagnetic field crackled with energy, making it stand out against the view below, but it made little difference to Kahna.

"Energy levels maxed, output ratio set to cover the widest possible area. Right!" Kahna began his interface with the Sub-ZERO system, and if he weren't so focused on his objective, he would've noticed that he was almost instantly connected with his Gundam, peering out through the Seraph's eyes as if they were his own as quickly as exhaling. Unconcerned with such a matter at the moment, however, his attention focused singly on destroying the base below him. Reaching his desired altitude, he came to an abrupt halt, the beam cannon snapping to attention. The Seraph's wings spread wide, so he could have the room to lock onto his target. He noticed the Virgo that was still chasing after him, and couldn't help but smirk.

"Pitiful." Kahna sighed, his targeting lock turning red with the confirmed target. A brilliant flash lit up the night, as a single wave of energy burned through the sky. It struck the rogue Virgo head-on, its electromagnetic field was unable to withstand the weapon's maximum power, and was quickly incinerated by the blast that tore through it. Down to earth it fell, striking at the center of the OZ base as if it were a needle pinpointing the heart. For a few seconds, there was nothing, the light vanished, and the base remained. The ground began to shake violently, and it split asunder, flames tearing through the base as if it had been struck by the wrath of some otherworldly being. Buildings capsized and toppled over, glass shattered, and the sphere of the explosion consumed it all.

In accordance with the base's destruction, those Virgo's that remained, fighting against Ahmed and the Leo troops with him ceased their attack. They stopped firing, the main cameras within their humanoid heads flashing in sync, as they awaited input from outside sources. Returned to their dormant status, the Virgo S units stood straight, and lowered their weapons.

Kahna freed himself of his link with the Seraph, exhaling slowly. Feeling returned to the rest of him, and the silence of his helmet gave way to the shouts and cheers of his comrades. Kahna pulled his helmet off, scratching the back of his head with embarrassment, almost involuntarily. A grand smile spread across his face as Ahmed's visage appeared on his screen.

"Contact our carrier. Inform them that our mission was completed with success." He ordered, leaning back into his chair as he landed the Seraph on the bare ground. "We'll make a quick sweep of the area, then head to our carrier's location, so we can regroup. We have to make certain that all the other units have successfully completed their missions, as well."

Ahmed nodded, and his image disappeared. Sighing to himself in relief, Kahna closed his eyes and leaned back into his chair, letting himself relax for a moment. When his eyes opened again, it was with a focused determination, his mouth narrowing to a thin line.

"This is only the first step to reclaiming the earth. We still have a long way to go…"

"Black unit, this is carrier 01, please report your mission status. Black unit, I repeat, this is carrier 01, please report your mission status."

Takeru forcible glanced up at the sound of an incoming communication, pondering whether or not he should respond. Carrier 01, wasn't that Kahna's transport? No doubt, his mission had been successful, otherwise he wouldn't attempt to contact him. Half-shrugging, Takeru opened communications with the carrier.

"This is black unit, reporting. I am currently en route to my second target, and will be arriving there shortly. First target has already been destroyed, over."

"Roger that, black unit. White unit has completed its assignment, and is now retreating from the area. Once you have completed your second mission, return to base. Over and out."

Even as the communications cut out, the Neo's targeting system alerted him to the spaceport ahead. It was a much larger target than the communications tower he had first attacked, in Kuwait. However, its defenses had been sorely reduced. All of its Virgos had already been shipped off to fight in outer space, and any remaining mobile Suits would only be older models, maybe a few Tauruses if they were fortunate, but Takeru seriously doubted it.

…_I don't feel like wasting my time, here_, Takeru thought dully._ I'll take out the control tower, first, then enter the base itself through one of their shuttle or Mobile Suit bays. I can destroy this place much quicker from the inside._

Complying with his thoughts, Takeru quickly changed the Neo into a Mobile Suit, snapping the twin buster rifles together, and aiming at the spaceport's central control tower. The target lock turned red, and he fired, a single, powerful blast that disintegrated the building within the brilliance of its own power. The neo dropped to the earth like a stone, its forward thrusters kicking in just before impact, keeping the gundam aloft, and surging it towards one of the opening bay doors of a Mobile Suit dock.

Takeru entered at a speed so furious, he barreled over the first Mobile Suit he collided with, that was attempting to leave the hangar. He knocked it backwards, into any Mobile Suits behind it while he continued on in safety. The twin vulcans mounted near the Neo's neck opened, and started pumping out their ammunition rounds at the Mobile Suits and catwalks. The gundam barreled through one wall, and emerged in the shuttle bay, still firing away. Those inside were helpless against him, he was moving far too fast for them to send any available units after him, and his continuous fire prevented them from scrambling any defenses together. Takeru finally slowed, and came to a halt with the shuttle bays, his vulcan's ammunition spent. Almost as if cocking a shotgun, Takeru raised his twin buster rifle , separating the weapon in two, and aiming to either side. The two blasts tore through the very foundation of the facility, making everything above the destroyed areas collapse into the earth, and into the path of the beams' destruction.

The Neo turned about, circling with the weapons continuously firing, to make certain that he destroyed all of the facility. The only remaining portion of the base that was stable was directly above him, but given time, it too would collapse, and onto the gundam beneath it. Not one to die in such a pathetic manner, Takeru connected the twin buster rifles yet again, and aimed the single, powerful weapon directly above. The blast disintegrated everything in its path, screaming through the building floors above, and the gundam followed in suit. Takeru used the cleared path as his road to freedom, the Neo's turbines burning furiously so it could clear the collapsing rubble safely. The gundam screeched away from the remains of the spaceport, as it erupted into flames behind him, hovering above the destruction like a vulture.

Takeru gazed down at his handiwork, surprised that his strategy had worked so well, for such a large facility. He couldn't help but give a smirk, and soon was laughing cynically at the carnage he had just created.

"You shouldn't have left the earth unguarded, Lazarus." He spoke aloud. "Not with the gundams on it. Now, you have a lot more to worry about than that pittance of a resistance up in space, that's causing you so much trouble. We'll be taking this planet back, underneath your own nose, and you won't be able to do a damn thing about it, will you?

"This is only the beginning, Lazarus. Once we have taken back the earth sphere, we'll return to outer space, and fight you there, until all of your new OZ has been destroyed. And Rem, you will be dealt with as all traitors are; with extreme prejudice.

"And it's only the beginning…"

_Three months later…_

The counterstrike made by the Maganac Corp. had been a complete success. Not one soldier's life was lost to the small battalion, and as a result, they were able to reclaim the entire Eastern Hemisphere in about two months. With each area taken back from OZ, more and more men flocked to their cause, many taking up the Leo and Aries mobile Suits that survived the destruction of their respective OZ bases. Their work continued, and expanded out to the Americas, forces coming in from both the west and east coasts, first in Canada, then down into North America from there. With the help of these forces, earth was reclaimed from the forces of OZ, and the Maganac Corp. was free to return to its home base. All that was left now was outer space; and the colonies.

As for the two gundam pilots, Kahna finally mastered the Sub-ZERO system, by continually fighting in the Seraph. His experiences in battle strengthened him, and very soon, he no longer needed Ahmed to assist him fight, and was more than capable to destroy an OZ base single-handedly. As for Takeru, the solemn young man went off on his own, making decisive strikes in area where OZ was still strong, and thus weakening their defenses for when they fought against the expanding force of the Maganac Corp. They always kept in contact, however, and planned out their strategies, before attacking. Each move was carefully made, like a well thought-out chess game. It was strategy that had won this part of the war, but OZ had as of yet to play it's next hand. Still, if they were to continue this fight, both Takeru and Kahna agreed that it would be in space. Not only that, but they would be going, alone.

"…We just received this footage from the satellites. It concerns OZ's space force, and should at least give us an idea of what we're up against."

Kahna and Takeru stood behind the young soldier as he brought the image up on screen. Takeru was still in his flight suit, having just returned at a communication from Kahna. They would soon be departing for outer space, and both gundams were under final repair for the trip. They had agreed to go their separate ways, when they left earth's atmosphere, and attempt to contact the resistance. Kahna had decided to head for one of the natural resource satellites owned by his family, and see if he or one of his sisters could dig up some information. Takeru had decided to use his own methods, and while he would've preferred to leave his Gundam on the earth, this video footage would show him if that were really the wisest course.

It was hard to see at first, against the blackness of space, but Takeru's keen eyes, which had been so used to the darkness of that endless sky, soon distinguished the multiple sparkles he identified as a massive Mobile Suit force.

"That force is huge!" Kahna murmured in disbelief. "There's no way earth had that many Virgo S units on it!"

"Lazarus has probably been reproducing them, out in space. Not only on the lunar base, but probably on X-18999, as well. I doubt they could've found as many pilots, however, and they're probably a great number of Mobile Dolls among them."

"You got that right, sir." The soldier agreed. "We've estimated that the majority of the force is made up of Mobile Dolls, that run on a Sub-ZERO system version of the system Libra used, in the great war a hundred years ago. Those with human pilots are all Virgo S units and the Sub-ZERO system. While they make up a substantial part of the force, the majority seems to be Serpent Mobile Dolls."

"Serpents? Weren't those the Mobile Suits created by the Barton Foundation and Mariemaia Khushrenada?" Kahna turned to Takeru with a skeptical look.

"That's right. And if they're using the Sub-ZERO system to control them, I can tell you with absolute certainty, they'll be a hell of a lot harder to deal with than mere Virgo S units."

Kahna looked at Takeru with concern, but the stern young man hadn't averted his eyes from the screen even once. He sighed helplessly. "Then, I guess we'd better hurry and make contact with the Colonial Resistance, when we get to outer space."

"Yep." Takeru conceded, nodding once. He turned away from the screen and leaned with his back against the wall. "Looks like I'm gonna need the Neo after all… Do you think you could take it for me?"

Kahna started in surprise. "What, me?" Takeru nodded at him. "Uh… I guess I could, but- What if you need it, all of a sudden? How will we contact each other?"

"Don't worry, If I need it, I'll get it. You just hold onto it for me, and don't let anyone touch it." Takeru pushed off the wall, and began walking towards the door. Kahna briefly paused to thank the soldier for showing them the footage, then hurried after him.

"Do you really think it's wise for me to take the Neo? I mean, I know how touchy you are about people touching your Mobile Suit-"

"I said, don't worry about it." Takeru reiterated, silencing Kahna with his sureness of tone. Kahna sighed, as they continued on, deciding to push the thought from his head. They walked on in silence to the Mobile Suit hangar, and Kahna soon found himself staring up at the Seraph. Takeru walked passed him, and opened up the Neo's cockpit, reaching inside, and pulling out the duffel bag he kept under the pilot's seat.

"Kahna, there's still one more thing to worry about." Takeru called over to him, making the young Winner heir approach the solemn gundam pilot. Takeru looked at him straight, but didn't say anything, only turned his eyes to gaze at the slender blue and white gundam that had remained untouched for near four months.

"The Azure." Kahna sighed. "Or more pointedly, Inori. What _are_ we gonna do about her? She's still catatonic, and I'm almost tempted to have the doctors pull the plug on 'er."

"Do that, and I'll kill you very, very, brutally." Takeru said flatly, glaring angrily at Kahna for even suggesting the thought. Kahna raised his hands up in defense, and laughed nervously, not wanting the powerful gundam pilot angry at him.

"Mater Kahna! _Master Kahna!_" Ahmed's deep voice drew the attention of both pilot's, and they looked up as the tall, burly Arabian turned the corner at high speeds. He stopped before them, and bent over to catch his breath, he had apparently been running a very long distance.

"You… are needed… in… medical bay… Go! You… you should hurry! Go on, it's an emergency!" The muscular man waved both gundam pilots on, and leaned against the rail, watching with envy as the two younger men sprinted along the catwalks with much more ease than someone of his age. Takeru got a very good lead against Kahna with his superior training, but it was mostly because he was taller, and had longer legs. Fortunately, Kahna knew all the shortcuts through the base, and Takeru was forced to follow the shorter Kahna. He turned the last corner too quickly, and slid along the floor, almost losing his balance, but he luckily recovered, and kept his composure in tact.

Both young men slowed their steps as they approached the medical bay, seeing there was something of a commotion. A nurse greeted them, and quickly ushered them along to one of the many rooms. Kahna himself was a little worn, and found himself easily confused by the strange attention. Takeru, however, had kept his wits about him, as always, and knew distinctly where they were being taken: Inori's room.

They were practically shoved through the door, and bumped into each other very hard, but the sight that greeted them left them both speechless. The doctor sitting at the bed looked up from what he was doing curiously, when the two young men were ushered in. recognizing the two Gundam pilots, he coughed, and gave a polite smile.

"Well, I'd say that you're just fine, now." He said, looking away from Kahna and Takeru. "You're heart rate and blood pressure seems normal, and you haven't suffered any mental damage. So I guess I'll leave you alone with your friends now, Miss Kazama."

"Thanks, doc."

The doctor excused himself past Takeru and Kahna, and quietly shut the door behind him, almost as if he predicted what was coming next.

"…Inori…" Kahna choked out the girl's name, fighting back his tears to no avail.

"Yes, Mr. Winner?" the girl returned with a smug grin. She sat up in the hospital bed, folding her arms across her chest in her usual cocky manner. She gave them her signature double-edged half-smile, raising an eyebrow in defiance of the whole situation.

"You're awake!" Kahna practically leaped into the girl's arms, embracing her tightly, and destroying her composure. She held the young man gently as he wept in joy, letting him get out all of his tears.

"Yes, Kahna, I'm awake." She reassured him. "Sorry I slept so late." Her small joke helped the young man pull away, his eyes still wet with tears, but a huge smile of relief planted one her face.

"C'mon, you, buck up." She said, tapping his chin. "I need you guys to fill me in on what's happened."

Kahna proceeded to tell everything that had happened in the past four months she'd been in a coma, and very quickly. Takeru knew he wouldn't even be able to get a word in edgewise, and decided not to. Inori did give him a look that said he would explain things in detail to her, later, and he just nodded. He, too, was relieved the young woman had finally come too.

"Okay, so to put this roughly, you two have taken back the earth sphere, Kahna's mastered the Sub-ZERO system, and now we gotta go to outer space and the colonies. Am I right?"

Kahna nodded, wiping away the last of his tears. "Yes. Takeru and I will be going our separate ways, once we're outside the earth's atmosphere. But, he's asked me to take the Neo with me, instead of taking it himself."

"That makes sense." Inori conceded. She turned away, and Takeru noticed a very thoughtful look in her eyes. "Then… do you think you could take the Azure with you, as well?"

"Huh? But why?" Kahna asked. He noticed a clouded look come over her fair face, and leaned close in concern. "Inori?"

"… I'm asking you because… I won't be able to pilot it for a while, Kahna." Her serious tone of voice made both young men look to each other in concern. "Or anything with the Sub-ZERO system, for that matter."

Inori turned her eyes towards the two of them, and for the first time, they noticed that they were unusually void of any reflection. "I'm certain that you both know that Rem is crazy, and you probably figured out that it was because I used my telepathy on him."

Both of them nodded. "Well, what I was trying to do was wipe his mind clean, make him a total clean slate. I didn't get the chance to do that, however." Inori turned her gaze away from them. "Lazarus shot me in shoulder while I was still linked to Rem, and as a result, I lost control of my powers…

"I- I'm still linked to Rem, telepathically. And I know, that if I try to pilot something with the Sub-ZERO system, I'll lose it. Especially in the Azure, since the psi-link is designed to amplify my powers. If I get in that cockpit, it'll strengthen my mental bond with Rem, and I will completely lose control of myself. So I… I can't use the Azure. Not until I can break my bond with Rem."

"As long as I'm connected to him like this, I won't be entirely stable, mentally. So I'm going to have to ask you to take my gundam for me, Kahna. I'll still go to outer space, but I just won't be able to fight in a Mobile Suit for a while."

The silence in the room was deafening. Kahna was too dumbfounded to even think, and Takeru found himself silently enraged at the whole thing. Partially at Inori for being so careless with her powers, but more at Rem and at Lazarus for subjecting her to this, as well as the rest of them.

_Calm yourself down, Takeru. There isn't a thing we can do about any of this_, Takeru forced himself to think. He dropped his chin into the palm of his hand, and looked up at Inori and Kahna.

"Well, if there isn't anything we can do right now, then we'll just have to deal with it." He said, drawing everyone's attention. "Inori, do you think you can look into finding any lunar base contacts you have, to help us find the Colonial Resistance while you're in space?"

"Uh… sure, I guess. What is this Colonial Resistance, anyway?"

"It's a small rogue group that uses hit-and-run tactics to attack OZ in outer space. I don't know much about it, but supposedly it's lead by someone of the Peacecraft lineage."

"Peacecraft?" Inori blurted, almost dropping her jaw into her lap. Takeru raised an eyebrow. She quickly clamped her teeth together, and waved it away. "Never mind about that, when do we depart for outer space?"

"In about two weeks, now that they have to load all three gundams into a large carrier for me. You two can leave whenever you want. I guess you two can take a shuttle, or something."

"No, that's okay, Kahna. We'll launch from where you do." Inori said smiling helplessly at the young Winner heir. "Look, why don't you go and make the arrangements for us, okay? I want to have a word alone with Takeru."

"Uh, right! Sure thing." Kahna dashed out the door, closing it behind him. When he was gone, Inori let out a helpless laugh.

"I don't believe that boy, but I have to admit, I am impressed with him. Mastering the Sub-ZERO system in three months, that's gotta take quite a bit of will power." She said approvingly.

"Yeah. So, what do you wanna talk to me about?" Takeru said, getting to the subject at hand.

"Well, I was going to ask if you'd heard from Crow, any time recent."

Takeru shook his head. "No, not since he gave me those first details for taking back the earth sphere."

"Wonderful." Inori drolled in annoyance. "So, I really guess that we're doing this solo, huh?"

"Yep."

"Hmm…" Inori turned her eyes to the ceiling, staring at its whiteness in silence. A long moment passed between them like this, just enjoying the silence and each other's company, though neither one would admit it.

"All right, then." Inori said, straightening out, and looking directly at Takeru. "You wanna give me the unabridged version of what I've been missing now, or what?"

Takeru blinked a few times in surprise, but a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, and he took a seat near the side of her bed.

"Sure…"

**_Next in Gundam Wing: After Era ;_**

With earth finally reclaimed, the three Gundam pilots have left for space. Separated from each other, and unable to contact one another, they each look for and find their own way into the Colonial Resistance, which is led by 19-year-old Julian Peacecraft, the descendant of Miliardo Peacecraft and Lucrezia Noin. To their surprise, however, Inori is already there, and she seems to know Julian very well. As Takeru ponders the new feelings of jealousy that have arisen within him, Inori is fighting off the demon's of Rem's shattered psyche, unable to help her fellow pilot's in the biggest battle they have yet to encounter. Also, David Maxwell returns in this next chapter (for all you Duo fans, out there!).

Takeru helps the young woman find her center, and Inori is able to free herself of Rem's mind once and for all, as the Gundam pilots destroy the false colony X-18999, in a most ingenious manner. Even with Inori restored to the team, however, things aren't looking up. All of OZ has massed itself at the lunar base, and Crow finally contacts the three with what are his final orders.

It's the fourth chapter of **Gundam Wing;** _After Era_!

_Coming Next; The Tears of Victory_

_**Author's Note;** After years in limbo, I've finally brought it back. Here's to the revival of AE! For any old fans, I hope you can still enjoy it as much as you did originally. And to any new fans, I welcome you to my created Gundam Wing world.  
_

_Tenkage-chan- A.K.A Miyuki  
_


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